A tribute on his passing away 

I saw a small news item tucked away deep inside the Times of India’s today’s edition stating that music director Daan Singh passed away at his Jaipur home of liver ailment at the age of 78 on Saturday June 18. If you are not a keen reader or aware of Daan Singh’s music you are quite likely to have missed the news item.

He was one of the most neglected music directors of Hindi films, yet he composed some everlasting melodies for Mukesh. The paper also quotes Nitin Mukesh offering profuse praise for him.

There was a time when I was a Mukesh-obsessed fan and one particular song which whirled inside me again and again like a record stuck in its groove was Gham-e-dl kisse kahun, without knowing its composer or film. Much later I came to know that it was from a film titled Bhool Na Jana, which never got released and its music director was Daan Singh. It is amazing that not only this song but several more from this film survive. These songs are extremely melodious.

His special talent with Mukesh got further acclaim with two iconic songs of Shashi Kapoor- Sharmila Tagore starrer My Love (1970)

The news of his passing away reminded me of my planned series on Forgotten Composers, Unforgotten Melodies, which I mentioned in my last post. Daan Singh would have surely figured some time down the line, but now I am advancing it and making him the first in my series. It is a sad way to start the series with an obituary for a composer I hugely admired.

You are now invited to listen to some great Daan Singh melodies as my tribute to him.

1.  Gham-e-dil kisse kahoon by Mukesh from Bhool Na Jana (1965), lyrics Dr Hari Ram Acharya

2.  Pukaro mujhe naam lekar pukaro by Mukesh from Bhool Na Jana, lyrics Gulzaar

3.  Gora gora mukhda by Mukesh from Bhool Na Jana, lyrics Gulzar

Now this is a fast song from the same film but maintains all the grace of Mukesh.

4.  Laga mohe ab ki baar by Asha Bhosle from Toofan (1969), lyricist Akhtar Romani

A completely different tack now.  A fast dance number by Asha Bhosle for Helen, but quite a treat.

5.  Wo tere pyar ka gham by Mukesh from My Love (1970), lyrics Anand Bakshi

Who has not heard the two great Mukesh solos from My Love?

6.  Zikr hota hai jab qayamat ka by Mukesh from My Love, lyrics Anand Bakshi

And finally a live Dan Singh video of a function in Jaipur in which he pays tribute to his favourite singer Mukesh:

Daan Singh’s image is courtesy the Times of India

The song La re lapaa la re lappa layee rakhda from Ek Thi Ladki (1949) always intrigued me. Its words (of mukhda) carried no meaning to me. Today I know it is based on a traditional Punjabi folk song, and these words indeed have some meaning. Then, the music director Vinod. Who was he? What other songs he composed?

All this was a black box, and for many years he was a one-song wonder for me. Yet when Lata Mangeshkar tornado hit the music scene that year with Ayega anewala and several more songs, now considered iconic, with the greatest music directors of the time Naushad, C Ramchandra, Anil Biswas, and soon to become great Shankar Jaikishan and many others, La re lappa stood tall among them. It is still extremely popular, I have seen many reality shows featuring Daler Mehdi’s medley of songs which invariably include this song.

Thanks to this site and Pankaj Raag’s Dhuno Ki Yatra we now know Vinod was born Eric Roberts in a Punjabi Christian family, converted from Hindus, in Lahore in May 1922. He learnt music from the famous music director Pandit Amarnath (the elder brother of the duo Husnlal Bhagatram). As per the prevailing norm of those days he adopted the name Vinod to make it look more appropriate. He was a highly talented music director in Punjabi films in Lahore, moved over to Bombay with Roop K Shorey team and composed music for several Hindi films. Though a highly talented person, the fickle film industry did not allow him the commercial success and fame he deserved. He died young in 1959 in poverty, which may be another reason why we do not get to hear more about his music.

But more importantly, I have come across several Vinod songs, which are incredibly beautiful. There are some I now recall I always knew and regarded as my top favourites, without knowing they were his composition.

The Golden Era of 1950s and 60s abounds in such unforgettable melodies whose composers are forgotten. I am excluding 1930s and 40s from this as the songs of that period (I call it the Vintage Era) face the problem of oblivion from public consciousness and have to be discussed in a different manner. I had planned to start this series on Forgotten Composers, Unforgettable Melodies with Vinod, who is also among the first chronologically in the period, and who held a special fascination for me for his music. He is coming second, as I did Daan Singh as the first article in the series as my obituary on hearing about his death.

Now enjoy some of Vinod’s great songs which are absolutely brilliant and unforgettable.

1. Jab kisi ke rukh pe zulfen aa ke lahrane lageen by Talat Mahmood from Anmol Ratan (1950), lyrics DN Madhok

Anmol Ratan had several songs of incomparable beauty. Here is a Talat solo which is so melodious and sweet that once you hear it, it lingers forever. My attraction for this song is because it has a special charm akin to what you find only in his non-film songs.

2. Yaad anewale phir yaad aa rahe hain by Talat Mahmood and Lata Mangeshkar from Anmol Ratan

If you had any doubts about Vinod’s versatility here is a Talat-Lata duet which I easily rate among their best.

3. Shikwa tera main gaaun by Talat Mahmood and Lata Mangeshkar from Anmol Ratan

Vinod is not done yet. Here is another great Talat-Lata duet from the same film.

4. Dilli se aya bhai Pingu from Ek Thi Ladki (1949), lyrics Aziz Kashmiri, music Vinod

Interestingly, the music conductor seen in the video is Vinod himself. Actor Singer is Honey O Brien, the lady who also danced to Ek bewafa se pyar kiya in Awara.

5. Ab haal-e-dil ya haal-e-jigar kuchh na poochhiye by Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar, from Ek Thi Ladki

One of the best Rafi-Lata duets ever. I am surprised why such a beautiful song remained virtually unknown.

6. Ghatkari matwari kari ghir ayi by Zeenat Begum from Ek Thi Ladki

Ek Thi Ladki, coming in the watershed year of 1949, was musically also a confluence of the Vintage and Golden Era with Zeenat Begum firmly from the Vintage Era and Lata Mangeshkar who would be the dominant singer of the Golden Era, both featuring prominently in the film.. Motilal, a senior manager, had been sent by his company from Bombay to discuss an important business deal with a Delhi seth (whom he had not seen before). But his scatterbrained secretary, Meena Shorey has gotten themselves in a situation where she and her boss Motilal have to take up residence as a servant couple in the house of the same seth. He rues that she has managed to reduce him from a manager to naukar to bawarchi to dhobi. But unconcerned, Meena Shorey dances on to this beautiful song by one of the famous singers of 1940s. Motilal also gets to enjoying the situation and smilingly passes the washed clothes to her for hanging on the clothesline. From the review of this film by dustedoff, I visualise this as a perfect screwball comedy, and I could almost imagine Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn in this scene.

7. La re lappa la re lappa laye lakhda by Lata Mangeshkar from Ek Thi Ladki

And now the signature song of Vinod you might have heard a million times, but sounds as fresh as ever.

8. Ankhiyan mila ke ankhiyon ki need chura ke aa

Here is beautiful song by Sulochana Kadam from the film Mukhdaa (1951), lyrics by Aziz Kashmiri, and composed by Vinod. One song which made her known to all lovers of old film songs is Chori chori aag si dil mein laga kear chal diye from the film Dholak from the same year, composed by Shyam Sundar. In an interesting coincidence this song is also picturised on Meena Shorey.

9. Thumak thumak chali kamini by Asha Bhosle and GM Durrani in Ek Do Teen (1953), lyrics Aziz Kashmiri

This song is from Ek Do Teen, which was made by the same team of Roop K Shorey, with actors Moti Lal and Meena Shorey. This is a lovely duet by Asha Bhosle and GM Durrani. Asha Bhosle seems to be consciously singing in Lata Mangeshkar style. SD Burman and OP Nayyar would be happening to her a few years later to evolve her own style. GM Durrani was the prime singer of 1940s and a role model of Rafi. Ironically Rafi’s ascendancy directly brought GM Durrani’s fall, but you do occasionally get his songs in 50s. Another feature of this song is that it distantly reminds you of DV Paluskar’s Thumak chalak Ramchandra.

10. O Arabpati ki chhori dil le gayee by Talat Mahmood and Geeta Dutt in Makhichoos (1956), lyric Pt Indra Pandit, music Vinod

Here is a fun and light hearted duet by Talat Mahmood and Geeta Dutt on Mahipal and Shyama. Shyama as ever is a delightful dancer. Mahipal complements her in playful flirting. Talat is an unlikely choice for such a song, but there are several songs, especially duets in which Talat Mahmood comes out of his image trap of a soulful, slow tempo ghazal singer and lets himself go.

(I would like to acknowledge that I heard some of the songs mentioned in this article for the first time on Atul song a day).

I have not forgotten the Forgotten Composers, Unforgettable Melodies. It so happens that in a unique coincidence birth anniversaries of Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle, and death anniversaries of Mohammad Rafi, Mukesh and Kishore Kumar falls in a narrow band of two and a half months between July 31 to October 13. They are the biggest icons of playback singing in the Golden Era, and I did not want to miss these special occasions to offer my tributes. I am back with C Arjun, who should rank among the top in this series not only alphabetically but because of his timeless creations. It was characteristic of the period that in a crowded field of many highly talented composers, some were consigned to B or C grade films. C Arjun was one of them. But his music towers over his films. Only one song of his – Paas baitho tabiyat bahal jayegi sung by Rafi is enough to give him immortality. Many of this blog’s readers have mentioned his name and this song. Much later his C grade film Jai Santoshi Maa, released in the year of the mighty Sholay and Deewar, established itself as one of the highest grossing films ever on the strength of his music.

Originally a Sindhi, he was born on September 1, 1933.  After partition his family settled in Baroda. He inherited his musical talent from his father who was a singer. He became assistant to another Sindhi music director Bulo C Rani. He started his career with composing for a Sindhi film Abana. His first Hindi film was Road no 303 (1960). Off and on he got films under nondescript banners with B/C grade cast. That he created memorable music nevertheless did not do much to change his fortunes. His teaming with the lyricist Jaan Nisar Akhtar would rank at par with the best of Sahir Ludhiyanvi’s composed by SD Burman or Roshan. He also composed a number of non film songs. He died at a relatively young age of 59 of heart attack he suffered at a recording studio. (Biographical information based on Pankaj Raag’s ‘Dhunon Ki Yatra’).

Here are his all-time great songs, which every music lover knows though many may not be aware that they are C Arjun’s compositions.

1. Paas baitho tabiyat bahal jayegi by Rafi from Punrmilan (1964), lyrics Indivar

Any mention of C Arjun has to start with this song. It is easily among Rafi’s all time greats. KR Vaishampayan, a regular follower of this blog, in one of his comments, drew attention to an interesting story behind this song told to him by his friend Dr Satyavir Yadav, who heard it on Binaca Geetmala hosted by Ameen Sayani. Once C Arjun and and Indivar were returning home from studio by a BEST bus, when a pretty young girl boarded the bus and stood beside their seat. Indivar looked at her repeatedly and asked C Arjun to leave his seat to let her sit beside him, and thus this song was born. Incredibly this song is picturised on Jagdeep who was in the lead role opposite Ameeta, who had a brief period of glory with some super hit films in the late 50s and early 60s such as Tum Sa Nahi Dekha and Goonj Uthi Shenai.

2. Chaah karni thi chaah kar baithe by Asha Bhosle and Mubarak Begum from Punarmilan, lyrics Raja Mehdi Ali Khan

Paas baitho tabiyat bahal jayegi was not a flash in the pan. Punarmilan had several outstanding songs. C Arjun shows his prowess for composing ghazal in this beautiful poetry of Raja Mehdi Ali Khan. Asha Bhosle and Mubarak Begum have rendered it equally beautifully, so have Shashikala and Ameeta acted it on the screen.

3. In pyar ki rahon mein tera hi sahara hai by Rafi and Asha Bhosle from Punarmilan, lyrics Gulshan Bawra

Punarmilan had three lyricists. This one is a duet by Rafi and Asha penned by Gulshan Bawra. This duet would compare with the best Rafi – Asha Bhosle duets by OP Nayyar. Jagdeep and Ameeta do the dancing around trees like any mainstream stars.

4. Bhai re bhai, main to bawri bhai by Manna Dey and Lata Mangeshkar from Punarmilan, lyrics Gulhan Bawra

Now you have a totally different flavour in this rarely heard Manna Dey – Lata Mangeshkar duet. A beautiful Krishna – Radha dance song performed on stage by Jagdeep – Ameeta.

5. Gham ki andheri raat mein by Rafi and Talat Mahmood from Susheela (1966), lyrics Jaan Nisar Akhtar

Gham ki andheri raat mein must be one of the best male duets of two legends Rafi and Talat Mahmood. The beautiful poetry is again by Jaan Nisar Akhtar who seemed to have a very creative pairing with Jaan Nisar Akhtar. This song bears an uncanny similarity to Sahir Ludhiyanvi – Khayyam composition Wo subah kabhi to ayegi from Phir Subah Hogi.

6. Bemurravat bewafa begana-e-dil aap hain by Mubarak Begum from Susheela

If a composer creates an unforgettable song for a B/C grade movie he must be immensely talented. If he creates two such songs you bow your head to him. C Arjun creates one of the most unforgettable songs of Mubarak Begam, a beautiful ghazal.

7. Main abhi gair hun mujhko abhi apna na kaho by Mukesh and Asha Bhosle from Main Aur Mera Bhai (1961), lyrics Jaan Nisar Akhtar

Mukesh and Asha Bhosle have sung some heavenly duets, and Main abhi gair hun mujhko abhi apna na kaho should easily rank among their best.

8. Peenwale meri ankhon se piya karte hain by Asha Bhosle from Mangu Dada (1970), lyrics Jaan Nisar Akhtar

C Arjun displayed amazing variety in whatever limited assignment he got. Here is a lovely mujra by Asha Bhosle in another C-grade film which has actors like Sheikh Mukhtar, Faryal etc in the cast.

9. Jitni haseen ho tum utni hi bewafa ho by Rafi from Mangu Dada, lyrics by Jaan Nisaar Akhtar

Here is an amazing Rafi solo. If you close your eyes you would imagine it must have been picturised on a top star like Rajendra Kumar and composed by a top music director like Shankar Jaikishan. Besides being highly talented composer, C Arjun must have been a very sincere person to create this gem for Sujit Kumar romancing Faryal.

10. Main to aarti utarun re by Usha Mngeshkar from Jai Santoshi Ma (1975)

The pinnacle of C Arjun’s work was Jai Santoshi Ma, a low budget film which came in the year of Sholay and Deewar and soon became a surprise super duper hit ranking among all-time highest grossers, obviously riding on the wave of his amazingly lilting compositions. Those were the days of radios at paan-shop and loudspeakers at every neighbourhood corner, blaring songs incessantly. You could not spend half an hour without listening to one or the other song of Jai Santoshi Ma. Here is an iconic aarti which really started the cult of Santoshi Mata. Before this film Santoshi Ma was hardly among the well-known deities.

A friend of mine is a Storehouse of Information (SoI) on music of 1950s and 60s. He has an endearing way of posing teasers. One day he asked me if I had heard of Shailesh (Mukherji), the music director. I had not. Then came a helpful one, have you heard the song Nadiya ke pani o re nadiya ke pani. I jumped at it. To think that I did not know the music director of this my great favourite song! I immediately went to Youtube to check up on him. Then it was my turn to pose a teaser to SoI if he had heard Chhupa chhupi o chhupi aagad baagad aye re. He was thrilled to reconnect with the song. So you have two immortal songs from an unknown music director Shailesh Mukherji, that too from the same film Savera.

There is hardly any information available on him on the net. Arunkumar Deshmukh, whom the followers of this and Atul’s blog know as a living encyclopedia, informs that he also acted under the name Srikant Gaurav in the films Miya Biwi Raazi (1960) and Pyar Ki Pyas (1961). He was also a playback singer and sang a number of songs in film like Suhag Sindoor (1953). He was also a good tabla player – the interlude of Aansuon ki chhaon mein bhi hans le by Lata Mangeshkar in Parichay (1954) has good tabla piece by him.

From the information available he composed music for Suhag Sindoor (1953) with Suresh Kumar, Parichay (1954) with Ved Pal and Savera (1958). This is not a great deal of work, but some of his songs have become immortal. I do not know I would have come upon him by myself. But that I am writing on him at this point of time owes it to SoI (like me he also prefers to remain anonymous).

Here are some of his songs unforgettable songs.

1. Nadiya ke pani o re nadiya ke pani by Lata Mangeshkar from Savera (1958), lyrics Shailendra

This was a Ashok Kumar and Meena Kumari starrer film.  Songs of river or nadi/ nadiya have a special beauty – they refer to the endless flow of nature and somehow they make you feel you have been transported to the bank of a river. This should be one of the best nadiya songs, and is the one with which SoI connected me to Shailesh Mukherji.

2.  Chhupa chhupi o chhupi aagad baagad ayee re by Mana dey, Lata Mangeshkar and chorus from Savera, lyrics Shailendra

This is a fascinating children’s song picturised on Ashok Kumar and Meena Kumari playing with a bunch of children with gay abandon.

3.  Thehro zara si der ko aakhir chale hi jaoge by Geeta Dutt from Savera, lyrics Prem Dhavan

You do not get too many ghazals by Geeta Dutt.   This magical ghazal must be a pleasant discovery for Geeta Dutt fans.

4.  Mane na mane na by Geeta Dutt from Savera, lyrics Prem Dhavan

Another atypical Geet Dutt song, now a fast paced mujra.

5.  Dil ke phaphole jal uthe by Lata Mangeshkar from Parichay (1954), lyrics Keshav

The mukhadaa of this song borrows from KL Saigal Dey’s classic song from Dhoop Chhaon (1935).

6.  Sakhi sajan ne mujhko bulaya hai by Geeta Dutt from Suhag Sindoor (1953)

Now you have a more typical melodious Geeta Dutt song from Suhag Sindoor produced by Munshi productions, Bombay, starring  Shyama and Asit Baran.  Asit Baran is a surprise casting here.  When the biggies of New Theatres like KL Saigal had migrated from Calcutta to Bombay, Asit Baran was holding fort in Calcutta and starring in a number of films in early 40s.  In the true New Theatres tradition he was himself an excellent singer.   Several of his absolutely beautiful songs are now available, and I should be writing about him sometime soon.  But the interesting point is that he should have also shifted to Bombay, and as if to mark Bombay’s ascendancy over Calcutta, Asit Baran did not have a single song in this film.  (Come to think of it, even RC Boral shifted to Bombay.   But while in the New Theatres era he was the Gold Standard of music, I have yet to come across any worthwhile song of his in his Bombay period).

Sardar Malik was not counted among the top five composers, which place was occupied by Naushad, Shankar Jaikishan, C Ramchandra, OP Nayyar and SD Burman. He would not be counted among the top dozen, some people might have difficulty in including his name even in the top twenty music directors of the Golden Era. Google search of his name intriguingly takes you to the Wikipedia page of his son Anu Malik, who we all know, has been the most dominant composer of the 1990’s. He has been winner of several Filmfare awards (Sardar Malik won none), judge at reality music shows and quite a prominent figure in the show-biz. I am not sure how many of Anu Malik’s songs would survive a few years from now, but I am sure Saranga teri yaad mein, Ae gham-e-dil kya karun and several more of Sardar Malik’s compositions would remain immortal.

Bits of information collected from here and there indicate he was born in 1925. He learnt music from Ustad Allauddin Khan and was trained as a dancer under the famed Uday Shankar at his residential school at Almora. He was a gifted singer and started getting both singing and composing assignments. Seeing the rise of independent playback singers such as Rafi and Mukesh, he realised he could not match them, and confined himself to music direction, and came over to Bombay. He was married to the sister of Hasrat Jaipuri. His early films Renuka (1947), Raaz (1949) and Stage (1951) did not leave much impact. His first noteworthy film was Laila Majnu (1953), in which he gave music along with Ghulam Mohammad. Talat’s Ae Gham-e-dil kya karun in Thokar (1954) created a sensation, though the film may not have been a great success. Main gharibon ka dil hun watan ki zuban by Hemant Kumar in Aab-e-Hayat (1955) is one of his most memorable songs. Sarangaa (1960) is of course a musical masterpiece, containing several all-time great songs. In spite of his obvious talents he remained consigned to B-grade films. He passed away in 2006; though suffering neglect himself, he must have been a satisfied man at his son’s ‘enormous’ success.

Here are some of Sardar Malik’s unforgettable melodies.

1.  Saranga teri yaad mein by Mukesh in Sarangaa (1960), lyrics Bharat Vyas

I have not seen any compilation of the best Mukesh songs without this song near the top.  It is picturised on a perfect B-grade actor Sudesh Kumar. But it does not matter if the melody is so exquisite complementing equally elegant lyrics of Bharat Vyas and the beautiful scenery of the woods and a misty night.

2.  Haan diwana hun main by Mukesh in Sarangaa

Creating one Mukesh masterpiece in the face of giants like Anil Biswas, Naushad and Shankar Jaikishan is a tough task, but Sardar Malik creates another Mukesh immortal in the same film.

3.  Piya kaise milun tumse by Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar from Saranga (1960)

Sarangaa had a great Mukesh-Lata Mangeshkar duet Laagi tumse lagan sathi chute na, which I have used in another post. This Rafi-Lata duet also is no less beautiful.

4.  Baharon ki duniya pukare tu aa ja by Talat Mahmood and Asha Bhosle from Laila Majnu (1953), lyrics Shakeel Badayuni

Laila Majnu had two composers, the other one being Ghulam Mohammad. But it seems, unlike normal duos they composed separate songs in the film. Baharon ki duniya pukare tu aa ja is credited to Sardar Malik. A beautiful Talat-Asha duet.

5.  Tere dar pe aya hun fariyd lekar by Talat Mahmood from Laila Majnu

Laila Majnu also had this silky solo by Talat Mahmood credited to Sardar Malik.  This was the phase when Shammi Kapoor was not the Shammi Kpoor we know, and we have a number of Talat Mahmood songs picturised on him.

6.  Ae gham-e-dil kya karun by Talat Mahmood for Thokar (1953), lyrics Majaz

Majaz  was a great but deeply troubled Urdu poet. His anguished ghazal has been made immortal by Talat Mahmood and in equal measure by the composition of Sardar Malik, picturised on a pre-yahoo Shammi Kapoor.

7.  Main gharibon ka dil hun watan ki zuban by Hemant Kumar in Aab-e-Hayaat (1955), lyrics Hasrat Jaipuri

As Premnath straddles through the street of this magical city singing Main jo gata chalun sath mehfil chale, the horde of beautiful damsels cannot help pouring out in the street and balconies, and dancing and singing in chorus. One of my top Hemant Kumar favourites, with one of the best song picturisations.

8.  Hui ye humse nadani ki hum teri mehfil me aa baithe by Lata Mangeshkar from Chor Bazar (1954), lyrics Shakel Badayuni

A less known Lata Mangeshkar song, but should compare with the best of Lata during the period. The song has traces of C Ramchandra style.

9.  Baharon se poochho mere pyar ko tum by Mukesh and Suman Kalynpur from Mera Ghar Mere Bachche (1960), lyrics Hasrat Jaipuri

A very pleasant Mukesh-Suman Kalyanpur duet in another B-grade movie.

10.  Chanda ke des mein rahti ek rani by Mukesh from Mera Ghar Mere Bachche

Sardar Malik seems to have some special talent for Mukesh.  Lullabies are generally sung by mothers. Here he comes up with one of the best lullabies sung by and picturised on a male (Sudesh Kumar).

11.  Sun more rasiya sun man basiya by Mukesh and Suman Kalyanpur from Madan Manjari (1961), lyrics Hasrat Jaipuri

It does not get any sweeter than this.  I cannot think of many duets more beautiful than Sun more rasiya sun man basiya, again a from a perfect B-grade film starring unknown actors like Nalini Chonkar and Manhar Desai.

12.  Mujhe tumse mohabbat hai magar main kah nahi sakta by Rafi from Bachpan (1963), lyrics Hasrat Jaipuri

Sardar Malik does a competent job with Rafi as well.

13.  Sun chand meri ye dastan by Mukesh from Nag Jyoti (1963), lyrics Bharat Vyas

But with Mukesh, Sardar Malik is in his elements. Another beautiful lyric by Bharat Vyas, composed beautifully by Sardar Malik.

14.  Yun na hume dekhiye hum baar baar kahte hain by Rafi and Suman Kalynpur from Jantar Mantar (1964), lyrics Hasrat Jaipuri

I like this song picturised on Mahipal and Vijaya Chaudhry for it shows how the talented, but sidelined composers bestowed great care even in a B-grade film.

15.  Aaj ki raat aji hothon ko chup rahne do by Rafi and Suman Kalyanpur from Roop Sundari (1964), lyrics Bharat Vyas

Again a B-grade film starring Mahipal and Anita Guha. Any talented person would get frustrated at the unfair film world, so I do not blame Sardar Malik for showing traces of Roshan in this song. But a melodious song nevertheless.

Since I started this series, readers have been suggesting names of various composers. Some have been covered; others would follow in due course. But no one has mentioned the name of Pardesi so far. I am not surprised; no one fits the theme Forgotten Composers Unforgettable Melodies better than Pardesi. Pardesi who? I do not know, nor do I know anyone who knows anything about him. Yet there is one song composed by him which is so unforgettable that Pardesi merits a post in this series. That song is an incredibly sweet Mukesh-Lata Mangeshkar duet Chanda re mori patiya le ja from the film Banjarin (1960).

When all sources fail, you can trust our living encyclopaedia Arunkumar Deshmukhji (whom I had the pleasure to meet recently in Mumbai) would fill in some details. He informs me that the name of Pardesi was Chand Pardesi. He has given music to the following films:

Banjarin (1960),
Khufia Mahal (1964)
Parivartan (1973, with MK Pujari)
Kitne Paas Kitne Door (1976)
Banmanush (1979)
Ye Kaisa Nasha Hai (1981)
Bhai Akhir Bhai Hota Hai (1983)
Ek Baar Chale Aao (1983)

None of the films rings a bell. But the duet Chanda re mori patiya le ja from obviously an obscure movie would figure near top of my list of the best of Mukesh-Lata. It is songs such as these which induced me to start this series.

A search of YouTube yields some more songs, not in the same class but quite good in their own right. Here are some of Pardesi songs.

1. Kya doge dil le ke by Asha Bhosle from Bankelal (1972), originally started as Rasiya, lyrics Pandit Madhur

The video is not available. But very obviously it seems to be a fast-paced mujra song. I would rate it among one of the better Asha Bhosle songs, but sadly it is virtually extinct.

2. Zindagi hai to haseeno ka salam ayega by Manna Dey and Suman Kalyanpur from Khufia Mahal (1964), lyrics Zafar Rahi

This is an interesting qawwali from a B-grade fantasy film, picturised on an urankhatola. You can see Jairaj leading the men’s team. Tun Tun is a recognisable face in the ladies group.

3. Pyar hoga ji iqrar hoga ji by Asha Bhosle from Khufia Mahal, lyrics Shyam Hindi

A typical B-grade dance song. The lady (whom I do not recognize) is cavorting around Jairaj, who does not seem to be moved and appears suspicious of her intentions.

4. Sar se anchal dhalakne laga hai by Suman Kalyanpur from Khufia Mahal, lyrics Zafar Rahi

An unknown song, but it has quite a pleasant beat and typical Suman Kalyanpur melody.

5. Do lafzon ki hai mere sanam by Suman Kalyanpur from Khuafia Mahal, lyrics Shyam Hindi

Another Suman Kalyanpur song, but not much distinguishing about it.

6. Chanda re mori patiya le ja from Banjarin (1960), lyrics Pandit Madhur, music Pardesi

And now comes the song which puts everything in shade. Suddenly you have a Pardesi creation which ranks with the best by any great composer, and makes the song and Pardesi unforgettable for me.  The credits mention Ratan Pictures as the producers, Jaswant Jhavei as the director, actors such as Kanchan Kamini, Manhar Desai, Lalita Kumari etc – a perfect recipe for an eminently B-grade movie.

My fascination for Chanda re mori patiya le ja has its origin in my abiding romance with Raga Durga, which calls for a post by itself. Suffice it to say during my early twenties someone gifted me an LP of Bismillah Khan-VG Jog jugalbandi, whose anchor piece of was Raga Durga. The impact was like nothing I had experienced before. Then started my love affair bordering on obsession with this Raga. It is surprising there are hardly any film songs based on Durga. But anything based on it would move me beyond words. Then I realised the reason for my great fascination for Pankaj Mullick’s Ye raatein ye mausam ye hansna hansaana. Here is a more accessible Raga Durga by Ghulam Mustafa Khan.

Jai Durge durgati pariharini by Ghulam Mustafa Khan

There are some people whose reputation precedes their arrival.  Jamal Sen has come in for some great praise on at least three occasions on this blog. In Subodh’s piece on Yaman, Jamal Sen’s composition Sapna ban sajan aye was mentioned in comments as one of the best examples of Yaman, and several readers mentioned him as a befitting candidate for this series. Earlier, while researching for Suraiya’s songs, I came across an unheard gem Raton ki need chheen li ankhon ke intezar ne from Shokhiyan (1951), which I had to include over some other well known songs. And later, while writing on Mubarak Begum, Jamal Sen’s contribution in giving her some of the most memorable songs, especially the duet with Mohammad Rafi, Devta tum ho mera sahara in Dayera (1953), was recognised.

With music of such high quality, it is one of the vagaries of the film world that Jamal Sen remained on the fringes and virtually unknown. I myself do not recall being aware of him and his songs before the internet era. I am fulfilling a long pending request of the readers to write on him as a tribute to one of the very talented, but forgotten composers of the Golden Era of our film music (1950s and 60s).

Jamal Sen’s profile

Originally from Sujangarh in Churu district (Rajasthan), Jamal Sen imbibed music from his family tradition. One of his ancestors, Kesari Sen, was said to be a disciple of Tansen. His father Jeevan Sen was a court musician in some princely states. Jeevan Sen also gave music in some Parsi Theatre. Jamal Sen was an adept Kahak dancer. He was also a singer with the All India Radio, Calcutta. He became an assistant to Ghulam Haider in Lahore, and in many musical programmes as well as films like Khazanchi he played the tabla and dholak. Recognising his talents, Kedar Sharma gave him a break in Shokhiyan (1951) over his traditional composers, Roshan and Snehal Bhatkar. Jamal Sen fully met the confidence reposed in him. The next film was Dayera (1953), which was also remarkable for its music. This was the film which made Mubarak Begum famous.

Unfortunately, he could not repeat the success of Shokhiyan and Dayera, even when some of the songs in his later films were reasonably good. Later he also gave music in a Chhatisgarhi film Ghar Dwar (1971) and Bhojpuri film Nag Panchami (1964). Some of his films could not see the light of the day. Interestingly, one of his songs Beeta hua ek sawan ek yaad tumhari was recorded for his first film, Shokhiyan. This song could not find a place in the movie, but was used by Kedar Sharma in his telefilm Pahla Kadam, released in 1980. Dejected by the state of his career, Jamal Sen reportedly took to alcohol. He lived in anonymity and died unsung on April 12, 1979 at Borivili (Mumbai). However, he would be happy in the heaven to know that his grandson Sameer Sen (part of Sameer Sen and his uncle Daleep Sen duo) has achieved commercial success, though he may not be too much enamoured of their music.

Jamal Sen’s select filmography

Jamal Sen gave music for the following films:

Shokhiyan (1951)
Dayera (1953)
Dharmapatni (1953)
Rangeela (1953)
Kasturi (1954), with Pankaj Mullick
Ritu Vihar (1954)
Patit Paawan (1955)
Amar Shaheed (1960)
Baghdad (1961)
Alha Udal (1962)
Manchali (1962)

(Acknowledgment: The above information is based on Pankaj Raag’s Dhuno Ki Yatra, a magnum opus on the music directors, and Cineplot.com.)

Now let us enjoy some of his best songs. But before we get to his songs, let us have Kedar Sharma’s short video clip talking about Jamal Sen

(It is mentioned on the YT that it is a part of a short film made by Sharad Dutt for Doordarshan. Readers would recall Doordarshan had dozens of short films on music personalities such as Naushad, Anil Biswas, Pankaj Mullick etc. You name them and they had it – all made by Sharad Dutt. Thank you Sharadji for creating such everlasting legacy.)

And his grandson Sameer Sen being part of some initiative to honour his grandfather.

1.  Sapna ban sajan aye by Lata Mangeshkar from Shokhiyan (1951), lyrics Kedar Sharma

This Prem Nath- Suraiya starer film had absolutely outstanding music as you associate with a Kedar Sharma film.  We have discussed this song earlier, but it bears repetition.  If we call this the definitive Yaman in Hindi films, it would not be too much of an exaggeration. Atul’s site has some useful information about this movie and Jamal Sen.

2.  Ayee barkha bahar by Lata Mangeshkar and Pramodini Deasi from Shokhiyan (1951)

From classical, let us go to the other end of folk. Can you think of a sweeter song than this? The picturisation of beautiful damsels frolicking in water is subtly erotic.

3.  Tu to aa ja re by Suraiya from Shokhiyan (1951)

Another folk beauty.

4.  Aa bhi ja meri duniya mein koi nahi, bin tere kab talak by Talat Mahmood from Dayera (1953), lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri

Talat Mahmood was at the peak of his popularity in the early 50s.  Jamal Sen draws all the famed silky softness of Talat’s voice in this ghazal.

5.  Aansoo to nahi hain ankhon mein pahlu mein magar dil jalta hai by Talat Mahmood from Dayera, lyric Majrooh Sultanpuri

This one again has everything that you expect from the best of Talat.

6.  Deep ke sang  jalun main by Mubarak Begum from Dayera, lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri

Mubarak Begum was the lead singer in Meena Kumari-Nasir Khan starrer Dayera.  Video clips are also available of all the songs of this movie on the YT.  But their quality is not so good.  Therefore, I am giving the audio link.  You hear this song and exclaim, Kya baat hai.  And then, you rue why was the music world so unfair to Mubarak Begum , or for that matter to Jamal Sen.  From the video link it appears as a background song as Meena Kumari tends to her ailing husband.

7. Bachpan ke sathi tujhko mera bachpan pukarata by Lata Mangeshkar from Patit Pawan (1955)

When was Lata Mangeshkar at her peak? To my mind early fifties.  And this rare gem from a completely obscure movie – one does not even know if it was released.  But God bless the uploader of this song – for such rare melody of Lata Mangeshkar composed by Jamal Sen. The blurb mentions that it was a Lalita Pawar Bipin Gupta-Jeevan-Sulochana starrer movie.

8.  Raat zulm ki kat jayegi by Md Rafi from Amar Shaheed (1960), lyrics Arjun

This is as good a patriotic song by Rafi as it gets.  In a sad irony, the uploader has given the picture of Naushad with Rafi.  Jamal Sen could have been spared this disrespect.  Shivaji Ganesan,  Gemini Ganesan, Padmini and Ragini were the lead players in this film.  It appears from the Hindi Film Geet Kosh that this film was dubbed from the Tamil film Veerapandiya Kattabomman made in 1959.

9.  Tum pe hum kurban kismat ban jaye by Md Rafi and Suman Kalyanpur from Baghdad (1961), lyrics Pt Indra Chandra

This typical romantic duet sung by Rafi and Suman Kalyanpur is pleasant enough, but I find it special because it is picturised on MG Ramchandran and Vyjayanthimala.

10.  Beeta hua ek sawan ek yaad tumhari by Lata Mangeshkar from Pahla Kadam (1980)

Finally the song which I have mentioned in my write-up which Jamal Sen created in 1951 for Shokhiyan, but could not be included in that film.  Kedar Sharma included it thirty years later, but Lata Mangeshkar’s voice is clearly vintage early 50s.  A beautiful song.

Guest article by Ashok M Vaishnav

(Many talented music personalities from regional films/languages enriched Hindi film music. Some achieved great name and fame in Hindi films, especially those from Bengal, such as SD Burman, Hemant Kumar and Salil Chaudhry, or in the Vintage Era, RC Boral and Pankaj Mullick; or from Marathi, such as C Ramchandra or Vasant Desai, or in the Vintage Era, Keshavrao Bhole etc. Some others, especially from Gujarat, could not replicate their success they had in their native language. Avinash Vyas is one such case. Highly talented, and the Pole Star of Gujarati film music, commercial success eluded him in the fickle world of Hindi films. Our familiar expert, Ashokji, is paying a tribute to this genius on his death anniversary, August 20. – AK)

Avinash Vyas (21 July 1912 – 20 August 1984), true to his name, Avinash, has left indelible mark on the world of Gujarati sugam (light) music, through around 10000+ songs. He composed music for over 190 Gujarati films (around 1200 songs). His songs covered a very wide panorama of subjects and moods. He can be single-handedly considered to have pioneered roping in almost the entire front ranking playback singers from Hindi Film World for the Gujarati film and / or non-film songs.

Having had the base of training in music under the wings of Ustad Allaudin Khan Saheb, he rubbed shoulders with Ustad Alla Rakha (A R Qureshi) for Hindi Films in his initial days. Avinash Vyas’s maiden film was in Hindi – Mahasati Anasuya (1943), jointly with A R Quereshi. After the teething struggles, the first major commercial breakthrough came in 1948 with the film Gunsundari, done in Hindi and Gujarati.

On Avinash Vyas’s anniversary, 20^th August, we take a look at his association with Hindi Hindi Film Songs by different playback singers.

Avinash Vyas is considered to be largely instrumental in Geeta Dutt singing more songs in Gujarati than her native Bengali language. Probably the great popularity of Geeta Dutt’s songs from Avinash Vyas’s mythological films, like Aaj nahin to kal from Nagmani (1957) brought more of that genre of Geeta Dutt songs in Avinash Vyas’s Hindi films during early 50s. But the commercial popularity in one direction did not deter him from using Geeta Dutt for diverse range of songs, such as this lullaby

So ja re mere laal by Geeta Dutt from Aadhi Roti (1957), lyrics  Bharat Vyas

We have to look at quantitative work or the period of active career of other “known” music directors of the HFM – Khayyam (around 40 films), Roshan (around 57 films), Salil Chaudhary (around 70 films) – to truly appreciate Avinash Vyas’s contribution of around 62 films from 1943 till almost end (1984-85). But the ruthless Lady of Luck of HFM seemed to consign Avinash Vyas to the vicious circle of low-budget mythological films, with sprinkling of some social or historical films, more as an exception to support the rule.

However, these adversities could not restrain his creativity. Avinash Vyas continued to experiment with almost every major singer. Here is some of the wide range of songs with equally diverse range of female playback singers:

Ek dharti hai ek hai gagan by Meena Kapoor from Adhikar (1954), lyrics Neelkanth Tiwari

Koi dukhiyaari aayi tere dwar by Sudha Malhotra from Andheri Nagri Chaupat Raja (1955), lyrics Bharat Vyas

Tere bangle ki main maina, a mujra by Shamshad Begum from Bhakt Raj (1960), lyrics Bharat Vyas

Ritu anokhi pyar anokha by Zohra Ambalewali from Har Har Mahadev (1950)

Chamak rahe tare by Madhubala Jhaveri from Rajrani Damyanti (1952), lyrics Neelkanth Tiwari

Avinash Vyas, probably because of budgetary constraints, seems to have used mainstream playback singers rather sparingly. But wherever he did use them, his work stood out among the contemporary work of other composers.

Here is one example of his Lata Mangeshkar song

Ja re badal ja from Kailashpati (1962)

By 1953, within just a decade of his entry to the Hindi Film World, he already seemed to have created a name. He was entrusted with composing the Gujarati piece in the multilingual song of the film ‘Teen Batti Char Rasta’ @ 4.0, wherein he has used Asha Bhosle in such a delightful light mood. He has been able to present Asha Bhosle in the pensive mood also in  the next song when he could get his chance to compose songs for social films, sometime by 1954. He certainly did not fail to show his mettle to handle very light social subjects through songs like

Sun bhi le Paravardigar dil ki itni si pukar from Malika-e-Aalam Noorjahan (1954), lyrics Keshav Trivedi

B.A., M. A., B. Ed. by Asha Bhosle and Chorus from Adhikaar (1954)

And through all typical Kishore Kumar mannerisms in

Tikadam baazi tikadam bazi.. miya razi bibi razi by Kishore Kumar from Adhikar (1954)

Avinash Vyas seemed to be equally comfortable in composing male songs, be it for mythological or social or historical situations –

Tere dwar khada Bhagwan by Pradeep from Waman Avtar (1955) lyrics Pradeep

Pollam poll by Mohammad Rafi from Laxmi (1957), lyrics Qamar Jalabadi

Jane di kismat ki naav by Manna Dey and chorus from Bhagyawan (1953), lyrics Ramesh Gupta

And his urge to experiment with different male playback singers too, within the constraints that surrounded his creativity, is clearly visible in these songs:

Bade bade dhoondhe pahaad by Hemant Kumar from Jagatguru Shankaracharya (1955), lyrics Bharat Vyas

Deep jal raha hai by Talat Mahmood from Andheri Nagri Chaupat Raja (1955), lyrics Bharat Vyas

He can be seen to have handled duets also very well:

Ek baar to mil lo gale by Talat Mahmood and Sudha Malhotra from Andheri Nagri Chaupat Raja (1955)

Tim tima tim taare by Mukesh and Sulochana Kadam from Har Har Mahadev (1950)

The period of 1951 to 1962 can be considered as the peak of Avinash Vyas’s tryst with Hindi Films – more than half of a total of 62 of his Hindi Films belong to this period. 1957 had 7 films under his baton, and 1954, 1955 and 1958 saw 5 each – almost a third of his total films during these 4 years. By that time he had a mega blockbuster Gujarati film – Mahendi Rang Lagyo (1960). That probably got his focus shifted to Gujarati Cinema. During the latter part of 60s through 70s, Gujarati Films saw (literally) a single-track era of folk subjects. Avinash Vyas, of course, was the cornerstone of these films. He leveraged his now undisputed popularity in bringing in the local folk singers to the film world, thereby granting them the recognition due to them.

Let us remember Avinash Vyas’s versatility, creativity and experimental streak across the span of his career, (also) through these Gujarati Songs – On Mumbai and Ahmedabad:

Ame Mumbai na rahevasi by Geeta Roy, Chunilal Pardesi and A R Ojha from Mangal Fera (1949)

Aa Mumbai chhe, jyan bhai karatan jaaji Bai Chhe (This is Mumbai, where there are more women than men) by Manna Dey from Mahendi Rang Lagyo (1960)

Hoon Amdavad no rikshawalo by Kishore Kumar from Maa Baap (1977)

Hoon Amdavad ni nari naveli from Kanku Ni Kimat (1983)

Who is not aware of Tu shokh kali main mast pawan, tu shamm-e-wafa main parwana or Dhalti jaye raat kah de dil ki baat? The songs are among all time greats of Rafi. But many lovers of old film music may not be aware or might have forgotten the name of Lachhiram. A very awkward and unfamiliar name, and not among the mainstream composers, he is a perfect candidate for my series on the Forgotten Composers: Unforgettable Melodies.

In my active radio listening days, the above songs were a regular feature on various programmes. It was precisely because it was such an odd name that Lachhiram stuck in my mind. There is some sociology behind such names. In the days of high infant mortality, when in a family children died successively, it was believed that giving an embarrassingly odd name would ward off the evil curse and the child may survive long. In some cases these were used as pet names, and at the right time the person was given a more respectable proper name. However, in many cases these were the only names that were retained in order to make the protection more effective. Most sites mention only his first name, some mention his surname ‘Tamar’, though my recollection is that radio programmes mentioned his surname as ‘Tomar’.

Lachhiram was born in Kuthar princely state of Himachal. His father was an employee in the court of Rana Saheb Jagjit Chandra. Lachhiram lost his father at a very young age, and was brought up and trained by the music lover Rana Saheb. He subsequently received training under the court musician Noore Khan. At the age of 20-21 he came to Delhi and got a job with HMV for whom he also sang many songs. He was discovered by Aziz Kashmiri, who had come to Delhi as an emissary of Shourie Pictures to look for a music director. Thus, his career in films started with Champa (1945), and continued in fits and starts till 1964, when it ended with the most successful film of his career, Main Suhagan Hun. Even though his songs of only a couple of films are well known, it appears he gave music for about twenty films as follows:

1.  Champa (1945) with Anupam Ghatak
2.  Badnami (1946) with Anupam Ghatak
3.  Kahan Gaye (1946)
4.  Khushnaseeb (1946) with Anupam Ghatak
5.  Shalimar (1946) with Anupa Ghatak and Pt Amarnath
6.  Arsi (1947) with Shyam Sundar
7.  Director (1947)
8.  Mohini (1947) with Bhai Lal
9.  Birhan (1948)
10. Guru Dakshina (1950)
11. Madhubala (1950)
12. Maharani Jhansi (1952)
13. Ameer (1954)
14. Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh (1954)
15. Do Shahzade (1956)
16. Guru Ghantal (1956)
17. Hazar Pariyan (1959) with K Narayan Rao
18. Razia Sultana (1961)
19. Main Suhagan Hun (1964)

His early films are not very well known, even Ranjit Movietone’s Dev Anand-Madhubala starrer Madhubala (1950) not doing much to his career. Therefore, let me start with his last film which had the most well known songs, and which make him unforgettable.

1. Tu shokh kali main mast pawan by Rafi/ Rafi and Asha Bhosle from Main Suhagan Hun (1964), lyrics Kaifi Azmi

This fabulous song has a Rafi solo version picturised on Kewal Kumar and a Rafi-Asha Bhosle duet version picturised on Ajit Kumar and Mala Sinha. Obviously it is a love triangle; Kewal Kumar’s singing makes Mala Sinha restless. My impression is that the duet came first in the film as a happy duet between the lovers, until the third angle came later to sing the solo in a different tune.

2.  Sab jawan sab haseen koi tumsa nahin by Rafi from Main Suhagan Hun

Another immortal Rafi song, performed by the handsome musician in the mehfil. The romantic poetry and the rendering leaves Mala Sinha in no doubt that it is meant for her, and she is not left untouched.

3.  Gori tore nain kajar bin kaare by Rafi and Asha Bhosle from Main Suhagan Hun

Now we can piece the story. Kewal Kumar is a music teacher. This beautiful duet composed in Raga Des shows the student (Nishi?) following her teacher. The song ends with a beautiful tabla piece, played probably by a professional player, the lady now dancing to the beats. (So, it is no longer a triangle, but a quadrangle?)

4. Ae dil machal machal ke kyun rota hai zaar zaar kya from Main Suhagan Hun, lyrics Butaram Sharma

Now this superb pathos-filled song by Lata Mangeshkar would compare with the best by any top composer.

5. Dhalti jaye raat by Rafi and Asha Bhosle from Razia Sultana (1961), lyrics Anand Bakhshi

Being the only woman ruler of the Sultanat and the Mughal period, Razia Sultan’s love affair with one of her advisors, an Abyssinian slave Yakut, has attracted film makers over the years. Whether the films were hit or flop, the romantic tale inspired superb music. We have seen Khayyam’s music in the 1983 version starring Dharmendra and Hema Malini. In the 1961 version starring Jairaj and Nirupa Roy, Lachhiram’s music is equally ethereal. (This one uses ‘Sultana’ in the title rather than the gender-neutral ‘Sultan’.)

6.  Jao ji jao badi shaan ke dikhanewale by Asha Bholse, Sudha Malhotra, Mahendra Kapoor and Balbir from Razia Sultana, lyrics Asad Bhopali

This is a beautiful qawwali muqabala between males (Agha and another?) and females (Madhumati, Jeevankala?). With the ladies being terrific dancers too, and accompanied by a few more dancers, the men have no chance.

7. Chali jaati chhabiliya matakati..bhes badal kar gori nikli by Geeta Dutt from Razia Sultana, lyrics Kaifi Azmi

Those days when the leading lady’s love affair became known, her gang of sakhis teased her. This unknown gem by Geet Dutt has excellent picturisation.

8. Aansoo na baha kar yaad use jo is sansaar ka data hai by Rafi from Guru Ghantal (1956), lyrics Gafil

A completely unknown song until I started researching for this post, but it has grown on me. I find no reason why it should not rank with Rafi’s most melodious gems.

9.  Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamare dil mein hai by Rafi from Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh (1954), lyrics Ram Prasad ‘Bismil’

This is one of the most iconic songs of our freedom movement, written by a revolutionary himself. Among numerous versions – a comment on YT mentions Rafi himself had sung four versions – this one is special because of its somewhat different tune than the one we are familiar with.

10. Ye duniya bewafai ki wafa ka raaz kya jane by GM Durrani from Madhubala (1950), lyrics Rajendra Krishna

This Ranjit Movietone’s Dev Anand and Madhubala starrer must be Lachhiram’s most prestigious project. The film might have bombed. As for the music, though melodious, without Lata Mangeshkar, Mukesh and Rafi (this movie had GM Durrani and Asha Bhsole as the main singers) it would have been impossible to make a mark in the face of titans Naushad, C Ramchandra and Shankar Jaikishan. However, this song by GM Durrani, Rafi’s idol in yesteryears, which must have been lip-synched by Dev Anand, is outstanding. I have earlier written on different singers for Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor – it would be interesting to compile for Dev Anand too, and see who had the most voices.

11. Are O denewale tune kaisi zindagi di hai by Asha Bhosle from Madhubala (1950)

Early Asha Bhosle makes a very interesting study. When the elder sister defined the female voice, and other leading singers were Geeta Dutt and Suraiya (I am putting Shamshad Begum in a class by herself), what could Asha Bhosle do? In several songs I have noticed clear Lata style; the impact of Geeta Dutt on her is well known. This song reminds me of Husnlal Bhagatram-Suraiya.

12.  Sajan ki yaad suhani hai by Prem Pal from Guru Dakshina (1950)

No information is available about this film or about the singer except that some good soul has uploaded the song on YT. Very curiously, Prem Pal is clearly a lady, but the song is outstanding.  The song starts with a slow recital ‘Dil jab se diya hai sajan ko’ and flows into a very fast song. It must have been picturised as a group dance.  Lacchiram has used slow recital as a prelude  to great effect in some other songs also mentioned above.

13.  Kisi ke dard ko seene mein hum chhupa ke chale by Ira Nigam from Guru Dakshina

Now you have this excellent ghazal from the same film by Ira Nigam who was a talented singer of the late 40s to early 50s. Belonging to a Delhi based family, she was born in October 1930 at her nanihal in Madhya Pradesh. From a very young age she started singing in conferences and on the radio. On Roshan’s recommendation, who was a musician in AIR Delhi, she got a break under Khursheed Anwar in Parakh (1944). She also sang in Rakhi (1949), Chaar Din (1949) and a few other films. But sadly, family circumstances prevented her from achieving her true potential as a singer or as a composer.

I doubt if Lachhiram’s pre-1950 songs would be available. But we should count our blessings. It is clear, he was much more than Main Suhagan Hun and Razia Sultana. I am very happy to present this forgotten composer who has been my favourite from my college days.

Acknowledgement: I have taken some information from Pankaj Raag’s Dhunon Ki Yatra and Anil Bhargav’s Swaron Ki Yatra.

Anil Biswas, Naushad, C Ramchandra. Shankar-Jaikishan, SD Burman, OP Nayyar – the doyens of the Golden Era of film music. We know all about their music. We know all about them: their oppressive family, their supportive family; their happy marriage, their troubled marriage, their extra-marital affairs, their heartbreaks; their animosities, their break-ups and patch-ups; the games they played (also of the football, tennis and badminton kind). And there are others who are known only for their immortal songs. Who has not heard of Ta thaiya karte ana – one of the best female duets ever – or the quintessential Mukesh song Mujhe raat din ye khayal hai, or Rafi’s evergreen Subaha na ayi sham na ayi and Wo hum na the wo tum na the wo rahguzar thi pyar ki or Rafi’s duets like Phir aane laga yaad wohi pyar ka aalam and Ek chameli ke madwe tale. Most of the SoY-ers would know that these are composed by Iqbal Qureshi. But how many of us know about him, or how did he look like or where he came from or what happened to him? I don’t, unless I look up some source.

Iqbal Qureshi is one of the fittest candidates for my series on Forgotten Composers Unforgotten Melodies. It has a very specific connotation pertaining to those who generally flourished in the Golden Era (1950s-60s) of film music, when film songs reached the masses through the radio. Besides the stalwarts, there was also space for Iqbal Qureshis, C Arjuns, Sardar Maliks and the like. They are the embodiments of the highest ideals of life – they are gone in anonymity, but their work lives after them in glory.

Born in Aurangabad, Iqbal Qureshi was inclined towards music form very early in life, and often appeared on Aurnagabad Radio as a child artist. From Aurangabad he shifted to Hyderabad where he worked in Fine Art Academy where his friends were the film actor Chandrashekhar, and the famous leftist poet Makhoom Mohinuddin. His transferable job took him to Bombay, where impressed with his singing of Moinuddin’s ghazal, Lekhraj Bhakri offered him his first film, Panchayat (1958), which also happened to be the debut film of Manoj Kumar. It songs were very popular, which fetched him AVM’s Bindiya (1960). His next major assignment was Filmalaya’s Love in Shimla (1960) which was the launch pad for Joy Mukherjee and Sadhna. After giving some excellent music in Umar Qaid (1961), Banarasi Thug (1962) and Ye Dil Kisko Dun (1963), he reached the apogee of his creativity in Cha Cha Cha (1964). Thereafter, there is an inexplicable downfall in quality, though he continued to give music till the 1990s, composing for 28 films in all, including a Bhojpuri film.

Standing at 6’4”, he was among the tallest persons in the industry. He passed away in anonymity in Bombay. Iqbal Qureshi was always in my list for the series on Unforgettable Composers at some indeterminate time. Some time back, Rakesh Srivastava sent me the link of an unknown song composed by him, which was an exact replica of one of his well-known tunes. That became the trigger for putting it now when SoY is engaged with carrying special series on the stalwarts.

1. Aaj mausam ki masti mein gaaye pawan by Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar from Banarasi Thug (1962), lyrics Hasrat Romani

I start with the song sent by Rakesh Shrivastava which was new for me, but its tune was very familiar. Iqbal Qureshi used the same tune for Ek chameli ke madwe tale, do badan pyar ki aag mein jal gaye from Cha Cha Cha (1964), which became a roaring success. Readers may recall, on the last anniversary, I had posted an identical case of SN Tripathi’s Janam janam ka sath hamara which was an exact copy of Rafi-Lata duet Phul bagiya mein bulbul bole from Rani Roopmati.

2. Ek chmalei ke madwe tale by Rafi and Asha Bhosle from Cha Cha Cha (1964), lyrics Makhdoom Mohinuddin

While we are at it, let us hear the more well-known Ek chameli ke madwe tale.

3. Khuli khuli zulfon ko baandh bhi lo ho jaye na duniya mein sham kahin by Mukesh and Usha Mangeshkar from Banarasi Thug (1962), lyrics Aziz Qaisi

It is time to revisit another beautiful song from Banarasi Thug. This was introduced to us by Arvinder Sharmaji.

4. Ta thaiya karte ana O jadugar more sainya by Lata Mangeshkar and Geeta Dutt from Panchayat (1958), lyrics Shakeel Noomani

Let us start from the beginning. Iqbal Qureshi gives one of the greatest duets of Lata Mangeshkar and Geeta Dutt in his very first film. The beautiful song is enhanced by equally gorgeous dance by Shyama and Jabeen.

5. Mujhe raat din ye khayal hai by Mukesh from Umar Qaid (1961), lyrics Hasrat Jaipuri

Now a quintessential Mukesh song. The fact that it was in a ‘B’ grade movie, and picturised on Sudhir did not come in the way of the song’s popularity. Sudhir’s most well-known screen appearance is in Deewaar (1975) as Jaichand, a side-kick of Iftekhar.

6. Phir aane laga yaad wohi pyar ka aalam by Rafi and Usha Khanna from Ye Dil Kisko Dun (1963), lyrics Qamar Jalalabadi

From quintessential Mukesh to quintessential Rafi – Iqbal Qureshi moves seamlessly. Though a duet, Usha Khanna’s part is minimal. Therefore, the song leaves impact more as a Rafi solo.

7. Humein dam daike sautan ghar jana by Ye Dil Kisko Dun (1963), lyrics Qamar Jalalabadi

This film had an excellent mujra duet by Mubarak Begum and Asha Bhosle. Unfortunately, I could locate only its audio link on YT.

Later, thanks to the intrepid readers and music lovers, Shekhar and DP Rangan, its video link is now uploaded. Enjoy it as long as it lasts on YT.

8. Subaha na ayi shaam na ayi by Rafi from Cha Cha Cha (1964), lyrics Neeraj

Cha Cha Cha was the high point of Iqbal Qureshi’s music. We have heard one of its most famous song, Ek chameli ke madwe tale, in the beginning of this post. The film has Rafi’s two great solos. Here is a soft solo which starts with a slow recital prelude.

9. Wo hum na the wo tum na the by Rafi from Cha Cha Cha (1964), lyrics Neeraj

That Chandrashekhar was the hero of Cha Cha Cha is less of a surprise than the fact that Helen was the heroine. In this perfect ‘B’ grade setting, Iqbal Qureshi gives this A+ Rafi song.

10. Husnwale husn ka anjaam dekh by Rafi and Asha Bhosle from Qawwali Ki Raat (1964), lyrics Shewan Rizvi

It is said that the makers of this film were so impressed by qawwalis in Barsaat Ki Raat (1960), composed by Roshan, that they wanted to make a full-fledged film on qawwali. Qawwali Ki Raat was nowhere near its inspiration, but Iqbal Qureshi composes this excellent qawwali muqabala.

Acknowledgement and Notes:
1. The thumbnail of Iqbal Qureshi as well as some information about him is from Pankaj Raag’s Dhunon Ki Yatra.

2. There was another music director by the name of Iqbal.  Often people mix up between the two.  Since Iqbal could not get as much fame as Iqbal Qureshi, his songs were often erroneously credited to the latter.  Arunji explains the difference between the two with his usual clarity and deep knowledge:

“MD IQBAL QURESHI AND MD IQBAL
Really, not many of us know that there was a MD called Iqbal, who was not Iqbal Qureshi!

Qadri Building, Irla, Bombay, was a well known address for taxi and auto drivers. Here lived the tallest (6′ 4″) Music Director of Bombay once. Apart from Shekh Mukhtar, he was the tallest person in the industry at one time.

Born and brought up in Aurangabad (Maharashtra), IQBAL QURESHI shifted to Hyderabad when it was a Nizam state. He established a ”Fine Arts Academy” to promote arts, culture and music shows. His friends in this were Chandrashekhar, the actor, and the lyricist and communist leader Makhdoom Mohiuddin.

In Hyderabad, during his schooling itself he learnt classical music from several ustads. He joined a government department as a store keeper. He was transferred to Bombay and came in contact with IPTA He started giving music to IPTA dramas. Impressed with his tunes, Lekhraj Bhakri offered him his first Hindi Film as an MD – Panchayat (1958), which was also the debut film for Hari Kishan Goswami or Manoj Kumar.  Panchayat songs (Ta thaiya karte aana) became hit and he AVM called him for Bindiya (1960). His best film came from Filmalaya – Love In Shimla (1960). It made a tremendous hit and there was no looking back. The films that followed were Banarasi Thug (1962) and Cha Cha Cha (1964).

Even after giving hit songs, Iqbal Qureshi did not get the number of films he deserved and finally ended up with a tally of only 28 films in his career, including a Bhojpuri film. He never entered politics nor he went to anyone asking for work. This inevitably ended his career with Lakhpati in 1991.
After the Chinese aggression in 1962, He had composed a NFS with Mahendra Kapoor,”Chalo sipahi chalo”,which had become quite popular. He was a very kind person and helped many in their troubles. He died on 21-3-1998 in Bombay.

While Iqbal qureshi’s career spanned between 1958 to 1991, there was another MD by the name of IQBAL (Md. Iqbal), who operated between 1953 to 1975. This Iqbal was known as ”Chhota Iqbal”, probably based on the heights of these two Iqbals.

He started his career with Malika Saloni (1953). He gave music to 21 films and 2 unreleased films. His films are:
Malika Saloni (1953)
Jaadugar (1954)
Jasoos (1955)
Sakhi Lutera (1955)
Anokha Jungle (1956)
Sipahsalar (1956)
Gypsy (1957)
Chetak Aur Rana Pratap (1958)
Blackmailer (1959)
Hero No. 1 (1959)
Toofani Teerandaz (1959)
Wrong Number (1959)
Diler Haseena (1960)
Gunfight (1960)
Zaalim Jaadugar (1960)
Night Bird (1961)
Toofani Tarzan (1962)
Kaala Jaadu (1963)
Black Arrow (1965)
Fauladi Mukka (1965)
Agent 302 (1963)
Unreleased….Gypsy (1966) and Rajkumar Suraj (1975)

Iqbal never compromised on quality singers and used Rafi, Suman Kalyanpur, Asha Bhosle, Khan Mastana, Meena Kapoor, Madhubala Zaveri, Mubarak Begum, Mahendra Kapoor, Ismail Azad Qawwal, Talat Mahmood, S.Balbir, Minu Purushottam, Chandbala etc. His songs do not include, possibly, any Lata number.

After films, he composed several Muslim devotionals with Mukesh and few ghazals with Shailendra Singh. His one song from film Sipahsalar, a Talat-Asha duet is included by HMV in their Classic range.

With all this, IQBAL remained a small time composer, an action film MD, unlike his same name counterpart who bathed in the glory of hit songs.  Iqbal’s only hit film, Sipahsalar  is also invariably included in Iqbal Qureshi’s filmography, which is injustice to poor IQBAL! ”

Dilip Dholakia? D. Dilip? Dilip Rai? – A Singer or A Music Director or A Music Arranger?

A tribute to Dilip Dholakia on his 6th death anniversary (15 October 1921 – 2 January 2011) by guest author Ashok M Vaishnav

(Hindi film music attracted talents from different regional languages and musical traditions.  Some, especially from Bengal, achieved great success and, in fact, became known as founding fathers of Hindi film music, such as RC Boral, Pankaj Mullick, Anil Biswas and, later, SD Burman, Hemant Kumar and Salil Chaudhary.  Stalwarts from some other regional languages, such as Gujarati, could not achieve the same success. Dilip Dholakia is one such doyen from Gujarat who in Hindi film music is primarily known as assistant to Chitragupta.  Ashok Vaishnav introduces us to many unknown aspects of this multi-faceted talent.  Earlier, he had written an excellent article on another doyen from Gujarat, Avinash Vyas. This is an important addition in the series on Forgotten Composers Unforgottable Melodies.  Thank you Ashokji for this enlightening article as a tribute on the 6th death anniversary of Dilip Dholakia which was a few days ago. – AK)

Those who are familiar with any aspect of Dilip Dholakia’s world of music probably may know of him by any one of these names that he used for his different music career roles. For Hindi Film’s mundane history, Dilip Dholakia (Born: 15 October 1921 / Death: 2 January 2011) was probably noticed more as an assistant to Chitragupta or S N Tripathi or to the music-duo Laxmikant Pyarelal. And yet, Dilip Dholakia remained all of singer, music director, music arranger and at times even lyricist and an actor, during his active career. Probably that is the reason the lady luck did for not favour him with great worldly success in any one field!

Dilip Dholakia’s music legacy was also multi-dimensional. His father used to play the flute while his grandfather would sing hymns and prayers at Swaminarayan Temple in his birth town of Junagadh (Saurashtra, Gujarat). Dilip Dholakia would join them in singing or in playing the pakhwaj when he was a toddler. He migrated to Bombay after his graduation and did some odd jobs. However, his association with singing continued. He trained under Pandurang Amberkar to hone his raw musical instincts into systematic classical mould. His introduction to Snehal Bhatkar, who then worked for HMV studios, led him to cut his first ever music record, with two Gujarati songs: Bhint phadi ne piplo re ugyo and Aadha tel aur aadha pani.

It was Khemchand Prakash who gave Dilip Dholakia first formal break to sing in the chorus in Thukra rahi hai duniya hum hain ke so rahe hain– @2.24 with K L Saigal for film Bhanwara (1944). In the same year, Dilip Dholaki could get to sing two songs – Gori chalo na seena ubhar ke and Dekho humse na aankh ladaya karo – under the music direction of Khemchand Prakash’s younger brother, Ratanlal, for Kismatwala. He got one more song under the baton of Ramchandra Pal for Laaj in 1946 – Dukh ki is nagri mein Baba koi na puoochhe baat.

It was another Gujarati music director Avinash Vyas, who paired him with the vintage era doyenne, Amirbai Karnataki, in the Gujarati film, Sati Sone (1948) – for the duet:

Shravani ni vadaladali tu ja..ja sandesho lai

(O cloud of monsoon! Go.. go take my message..)

It was a stroke of luck that got him his first major successful break. Ajit Merchant had planned to use Mukesh for a solo song of Divadandi (1950), but it was Dilip Dholakia, who was destined to enshrine this song as one of the most iconic ever Gujarati songs:

Taari aankh no afini taara bol no bandhani, Taara roop ni poonam no paagal hun eklo

(Addict of opium-intoxication of your eyes, and your spoken words, I am the only lunatic of your full-moon beauty).

Incidentally, this tune has been used by Chtragupta in Naya Sanasar (1959) for Lata Mangeshkar’s cradle song Chanda loriyan sunaye hawa jhulna jhulaye mere laal ko.

Apparently, Dilip Dholakia was either intrinsically more inclined to music direction or could sense that he may not make space for himself in the then competitive world of Hindi film play-back singing. So he took up the assignment of assisting S N Tripathi, and later on Chitragupta, who himself was S N Tripathi’s assistant before he charted his independent course. His foray into music direction / music arrangement was under the name of D. Dilip.

Dilip Dholakia could get his first independent assignment of music direction for Bhakta Mahima (1960). Even as he composed no less than 16 songs for this film, none of the otherwise quite resourceful netizens have yet been able to lay hand on any the songs.

Dilip Dholakia’s next film was Teen Ustad in 1961. The six songs of the film, of which one Talat Mahmood- Suman Kalyanpur duet and one Mohammad Rafi- Suman Kalyanpur duet as well as one solo each of Lata Mangeshkar and Usha Mangeshkar, have been mentioned in several HFM-related documents, but two singers for the two songs remain unidentified. I have not been able to locate any digital version of the songs from this film.

In the same year Dilip Dholakia got to compose music for Saugandh. He composed two Talat Mahmood-Lata Mangeshkar duets, a Mohammad Rafi-Lata Mangeshkar duet in which Dilip Dholakia (music director) and Prem Dhawan (lyricist) join in an innovative chorus; two Lata Mangeshkar solos, and another song for which the singer is not identified.

Aaja re chaand mere aa ja re, chaand mere chaand mere dil ye tera re – Saugandh (1961) – Talat Mahmood & Lata Mangeshkar – Lyrics: Prem Dhawan

Saugandh seems to be remake of a Telugu film. He has woven Talat Mahmood’s soft voice with a soft tune and equally soft orchestration. The song has been filmed on Gemini Ganeshan and Anjali Devi in the film.

Baghdad Ki Raatein followed in 1962. Dilip Dholakia composed three solos for Geeta Dutt, three solos for Lata Mangeshkar, a duet of Mohammad Rafi and Shamshad Begum, and one more duet of Mohammad Rafi with Geeta Dutt. It seems that apart from the considerations of availability of the singers and the related economics, Dilip Dholakia was using the opportunity to present his music in as many variants as possible so as to hit the chords of success.

Zulfowalon se na bhool ke bhi pyar kijiye ji – Baghdad Ki Raatein – Mohammad Rafi, Shamshad Begum and Chorus – Lyrics: Prem Dhawan

Being a light-mood song, Dilip Dholakia has given enough space for Shamshad Begum and Mohammad Rafi’s harkatein for augmenting the mood of the song.

Kisi se pyar ho to dil beqarar ho to, aao zara lete jao aji dil ki dawa – Baghdad Ki Raatein – Geeta Dutt – Lyrics: Prem Dhawan

Orchestration has mid-eastern accent and Geeta Dutt is at her silken best in tune with the dance song.

Dilip Dholakia had one more film in 1962 – Private Secretary. The film had Ashok Kumar and Jayshree Gadkar in the lead. Dilip Dholakia also rose to the challenge. All the seven songs had perfect blend of melody, erudite composition, ease of singing for the spectators – all possible factors that can help the songs of the entire album to be commercially successful enough so as to provide the necessary escape velocity to the music director to move in to A-league films.

Ja ja re chanda ja re teri chandani bhi mera jiyara jalaye – Private Secretary (1962) – Lata Mangeshkar – Lyrics: Prem Dhawan

Here we have as good as any Lata Mangeshkar solo of that time. Dilip Dholakia has been able to touch the melody chords that have been signature aspect of Chitragupta compositions. There are three more Lata solos in the film. All of these are available on YT.

Ja re beimaan tujhe jaan liya – Private Secretary (1962) – Manna Dey – Lyrics: Prem Dhawan

This one is semi-classical song for a light situation in the film. The composition must have gone into augmenting the trend of using Manna Dey for light situation-classical song genre that was evolving at that time.

How Dilip Dholakia had peaked can be gauged from the songs he composed next year for a Gujarati film – Satyavan Savitri. This was his maiden Gujarti film as a composer. All of Rafi and Lata songs had become quite popular among Gujarati listeners at that time.

Aawi rasili chandani, van vagado lahervati – Mohammad Rafi & Lata Mangeshkar – Lyrics Bhaskar Vora

(So enjoyable full-moon light has arrived, lighting up forest trees on the way)

The orchestration has very distinct Chitragupta effect.

And now was a sort of drought of music direction assignments in Hindi films. The next film – Veer Ghatotkatch – to come up is again a mythological film, in 1970. Dilip Dholakia has composed a solo each for Mukesh and Manna Dey, two for Suman Kalyanpur and a female-female duet for Suman Kalyanpur and Reshma. Thus, he keeps trying to be as creative as possible even possibly within shoe string budgets.

Us pratham pratham parichay mein hi maine khoya tha apnapan – Veer Ghatotkach (1970) – Mukesh – Lyrics: B D Mishra

The song presents Mukesh at his usual romantic best.

1970 had one more C-grade film assignment, Dagabaaz, for Dilip Dholakia, in the name of Dilip Roy. He composed two solos for Mukesh, one for Mahendra Kapoor and Lata Mangeshkar each and a duet for Mahendra Kapoor and Asha Bhosle for the film.

Aa meri baahon mein jhool ja – Dagabaaz (1970) – Mahendra Kapoor & Asha Bhosle –– Lyrics: B D Mishra

The couple goes to play their romance wandering happily in the garden is a very typical duet for Hindi film situations. The song is filmed on Chandra Sekhar and Helen, who themselves have not been able to get the A-grade lead actor roles, in spite of enough talent and looks.

The eighth Hindi film for which Dilip Dholakia could get to compose music was again a C-grade mythological film, Mata Vaishnodevi.

Man ke kore kagaz pe tasveer kheench lo Ram ki – Mata Vaishnodevi (1970) – Manna Dey – Lyrics: B D Mishra

The song has twin version in Asha Bhosle’s voice, filmed on Jayshree Gadkar, who was quite successful on Marathi screen, but destined to play the lead roles in mythological Hindi films.

Dilip Dholakia had a similar run in Gujarati films, where he had 11 films to his credit. He did a couple of A-grade films like (a national award winner regional film) Kanku or Mena Gurjari there. He continued to experiment and innovate here as well.

Eklaj avya hata, ekla javana – Jalim Singh Jadeja – Bhupinder – Lyrics: Barkat Virani

(Had come alone, will go alone too)

Even though his career as a music director continued for several more years, that was probably not enough to meet his basic needs for a decent living or provide him creative satisfaction. So he had to resort to the next best career option – work as music directorial assistant for some more successful music director. This he did so well for Laxmikant Pyarelal, from 1972 to 1988. He recorded his last song in 1988.

He also had worked with Hridaynath Mangeshkar to record his compositions like Meera Bhajan (Part-I), Bhagavad Geeta, Gyaneshwari Geeta, and an album of Urdu gazals by Ghalib. He also composed for HMV records sung by Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Kishori Amonkar. He composed music of Chausanthpadi written by Nishkulanand Swami.

The tradition of music runs into the fourth generation, the torch being kept alive by Dilip Dholakia’s son Rajat Dholakia.

Wishing S Mohinder (b. 8 September 1925?) a very happy 92nd birth anniversary (and wishing Asha Bhosle a very happy 84th birth anniversary)

Guzra hua zamana aata nahi dubara, hafiz khuda tumhara. This one song is enough to make S Mohinder immortal. But he also composed many more memorable and extremely sweet as well as fast-paced peppy numbers. He is among the music directors who had a wide range in the style of music as well as choice of singers. It is the vagary of the showbiz that a talented composer like him was not counted among the top rung. But some of his songs dominated the airwaves in the programmes on old film music, Guzra hua zamana being an eternal favourite. He was in my list for the series on “Forgotten Composers Unforgettable Melodies”. I would have written on him at leisure. But, despite this year being quite tight in scheduling, I had to do it now in deference to the sincere request made more than once by our passionate reader, KS Bhatia.

S Mohinder is the last of the doyens of the golden era still among us, though living in the US since 1982. He visits India regularly. There are a number of very nice articles on him available on the net. There is also a long interview with him on Rajya Sabha TV in their Guftgoo series. I am happy to present this article as our greetings to him on his 92nd birth anniversary. Today is also Asha Bhosle’s 84th birth anniversary. Incidentally, S Mohinder was equally well disposed towards her and composed some excellent songs for her, too. Here is wishing her a very happy birthday and long life.

Born on 8 September 1925 in village Silanwala of Montgomery district of undivided Punjab (now in Pakistan), S Mohinder inherited the love for music from his father, Sujan Singh Bakshi, who was a police sub-inspector and who also played the flute. His father’s transferable job brought him to various places: Nankana, where the family lived for four years and S Mohinder completed his matric from there in 1942. There he was attracted towards the singing of a Sikh guru in the gurudwara, and he learnt the songs sung by him. One day, while passing by the gurudwara, S Mohinder was singing the shabad which the guru used to sing. Impressed by his voice, the guru called him in and took him under his tutelage. The family moved to Lyallpur where he continued his training under a Sikh guru Bhai Sujan Singh. He also learnt classical music from Bade Ramdasji of Benaras.

His first interest was singing. His first programme was for Lahore AIR in the mid-40s. Once in May 1947, after finishing his programme at Lahore AIR, he headed towards station and bought a ticket for Lyallpur. There was melee on the platform, and rumour of Pakistan being created was in the air. When the train didn’t come for a long time, he asked the coolie what the matter was. The coolie told him that the trains have become killing fields; the Frontier Mail going for Bombay was standing on the station, and he should just board the train if he wanted to save his life.

Having reached Bombay without ticket and with nothing on, he took shelter in a Dadar gurudwara. But it allowed a continuous stay only for a week. When he was given notice on Sunday to leave on Monday, he told the management that he could sing Shabads. They liked his singing, and allowed him to continue. He was also paid for his singing which gave him sufficient funds to go in search of work. He was lucky to find work soon, thanks to the help of Suraiya, who was impressed by his singing at Lahore AIR, which she had visited when she had gone to Lahore in connection with the release of Anmol Ghadi. She told him that if he needed any help in Bombay, he could look her up.

S Mohinder got his first break with Sehra (1948), starring Arun Ahuja and Nirmala Devi (Govinda’s parents). Nirmala and Arun were the main singers, too, in the film, in which S Mohinder also sang a song, Ae dil uda ke le chal. He composed a song for Lata Mangeshkar for the film Shaadi Ki Raat (1950), which became immensely popular. Seth Chandulal Shah of Ranjt Movietone was very impressed by his music, and offered him to compose music for Dev Anand-Suraiya-starrer Neeli (1950), provided Suraiya approved his songs. That was not a problem. He signed a contract for Rs 7000, plus Rs 3000 for his accompanists. The songs of this film were quite popular.

Ranjit repeated him in Bahadur and Paapi (1953) which had some very good songs. S Mohinder was all set now. Naata (1955) was his next noticeable film. This was followed by his landmark music in Shirin Farhad (1956), which had the immortal Guzra hua zamana aata nahi dobara. He continued to give music till the late 60s. While Hindi film music scene was quite crowded, he was the leading composer in Punjabi films. He got the National Award for his music in Nanak Naam Jahaz (1969).

He also tried his hand at film production towards the last phase of his music career, but that did not succeed. As you can see from his interview with Rajya Sabha TV under their ‘Guftgoo’ series, even at the age of 90-plus, he has an amazing memory. He is the last of the Vintage Era/Golden Era doyens still among us. It gives me great pleasure to pay my tribute to him on his 92^nd birth anniversary with some of his best songs.

1. Guzra hua zamana aata nahi dobara by Lata Mangeshkar from Shirin Farhad (1956), lyrics Tanvir Naqvi

I start with the song that made S Mohinder unforgettable. A sad, melancholic song which refers not only to the tragic love legend of Shirin and Farhad, but also to the universal feeling of loss and sadness about any memory or era that has Gone With The Wind.

2. Hum dil ki kahani kya kahte kuchh kah na sake kuchh kah bhi gaye by Lata Mangeshkar from Shaadi Ki Raat (1950), lyrics Firoz

A wonderful song on the theme of Kuchh to log kahenge. The main music director of this film was Pt Govind Ram, but three songs of this film, including this wonderful Lata Mangeshkar solo, are composed by S Mohinder. This song was mentioned prominently by him in his interview with RSTV.

3. Phool khilein hain gulshan mein by Suraiya from Neeli (1950), lyrics lyrics Surjit Sethi

This was the song he presented before Suraiya before he got the nod for giving music for Neeli.

4. Ulfat ka adhura afsana kuchh bhool gaye kuchh yaad bhi hai by Suraiya from Neeli (1950), lyrics Surjit Sethi

But my favouite Suraiya song from Neeli is this one.

5. Kagwa re ja balma ke deswa by Rajkumari from Bahadur (1953), lyrics Raja Mehdi Ali Khan

One of the best Bhairavis, and one of the best Rajkumari songs, though less heard.

6. Tera kaam hai jalna parwaane chaahe shama jale ya na jale by Rafi from Paapi (1953), lyrics Rajendra Krishna

But in 1953, the songs of Raj Kapoor-Nargis-starrer Paapi became better known. Here is a quite popular Rafi song, lip-synched by Raj Kapoor.

7. Kaun kahe unse ja ke ae huzoor by Asha Bhosle from Paapi (1953), lyrics Sarshar Sailani

This must be one of the most melodious songs of Asha Bhosle from the early 50s. (The uploader of the YT link has wrongly attributed it to Lata Mangeshkar.)

8. Dhadake dhadake rah rah ke…Maujon ka ishara hai by Rafi, Balbir, Lata Mangeshkar and Shamshad Begum from Nata (1955), lyrics Tanveer Naqvi

S Mohinder now gives the full rainbow of colours in this song, which has tonga beats, boatmen’s chorus, and a melodious romantic song by the leading lady Madhubala lip-synching in Lata’s voice, with Chanchal adding contrast in Shamshad Begum’s voice.

9. Is bewafa jahan ka dastoor hai purana by Lata Mangeshkar from Nata (1955), lyrics Tanveer Naqvi

In the same film, S Mohinder now gives an absolutely melodious melancholic song. I heard this for the first time while working for this post. It is surprising that such gems have remained hidden.

10. Gar tum bura na maano by Subir Sen and Asha Bhosle from Mehlon Ke Khwab (1960), lyrics Raja Mehdi Ali Khan

Continuing to show his multifaceted talent, S Mohinder composes this melodious duet for an unlikely combination of Subir Sen and Asha Bhosle.

11. Kamla Razia ya Miss Marry ya ho Preetam Kaur by Mahendra Kapoor, Asha Bhosle and Kishore Kumar from Mehlon Ke Khwab (1960), lyrics Anand Bakhshi

S Mohinder changes tack completely in this song from the same film, when he composes a lively Bhangra dance song.

12. O mere pyaro zameen ke taaro jana tumhein hai kahan by Rafi, Asha Bhosle and Sudha Malhotra from Zameen Ke Taare (1960), lyrics Pt Indra

In the same year, in another B-grade film, S Mohinder composes an inspirational song, Anwar now being in the role of the benign uncle with two children, a reprise of David in Boot Polish.

13. Jhoom ke piya ki gali ghoom ke khushi mein chali aa rahi aa rahi hun by Suman Kalyanpur from Jai Bhawani (1961), lyrics Gopal Singh Nepali

Devotional films in the 60s were generally B grade films, but Jai Bhawani had one of my top favourites of Suman Kalyanpur. You don’t often get songs as sweet as Jhoom ke piya ki gali.

14. Shama se koi kah de by Mukesh and Suman Kalyanpur from Jai Bhawani (1961), lyrics Gopal Singh Nepali

This film also had this terrific duet by Mukesh and Suman Kalyanpur.

15. Aankh sharmaane lagi by Suman Kalyanpur from Captain Sheroo (1963), lyrics Naqsh Layalpuri

But grade ‘B’ film did not deter S Mohinder from composing another absolutely melodious song in the voice of Suman Kalyanpur.

16. Yun mile ki mulaqaat ho na saki by Rafi and Suman Kalyanpur from Sarfarosh (1964), lyrics Naqsh Layalpuri

Here is another variety of dish by S Mohinder, now a qawwali by Rafi and Suman Kalyanpur from another ‘B’-grade film.

17. Bijli giri kahan se begaane ho gaye hum by Rafi from Picnic (1966), lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri

I end this post with a superlative sad Rafi song in a situation where the beloved is getting married to another guy.

P.S. Several sources mention S Mohinder’s date of birth as 24 February 1925. From the comments of N Venkataraman and Arunkumar Deshmukh below, it seems there is stronger evidence in favour of 24 February.

Acknowledgements and references

1. Guftgoo interview with DD Rajya Sabha
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44-9cl-fQDc
2. Article by Hardip Singh ‘Aulja’ at apnaorg.com
http://apnaorg.com/articles/mohinder/
3. Article by Darkndusky Hoon at
https://apnaarchive.wordpress.com/2014/11/06/s-mohinder/
4. Article at Beete hue din
http://beetehuedin.blogspot.in/2015/09/guzra-hua-zamana-aata-nahin-dobara-s.html
5. Wherever the video link of a song is of poor quality, I have taken the audio version.

Guest article by Ashok M Vaishnav paying a tribute to Ninu Mazumdar on his 21st death anniversary (9 September 1915 – 3 March 2000)

(Ninu Mazumdar is a big name in Gujarati music. Hence we have Ashok M Vaishnav paying a tribute to him with this guest article. He has brought us closer to other stalwarts from Gujarat, such as Avinash Vyas and Dilip Dholakia, who worked actively in Hindi films too. This is in addition to Ashokji’s numerous other guest articles on this blog on many themes.

Ninu Majumdar’s music and songs have been mentioned sometimes on SOY. But not many know that he was also a very melodious singer. Ashokji has done a very extensive research on his career, and in this article he presents songs sung by him under his baton as a music director. Except one, Ayi gori Radhika, all the songs presented here must be new to the readers. This bouquet of songs is a listener’s delight. I thank Ashokji for this excellent article. – AK)

Ninu is the family pet name of Niranjan Mazumdar (B: 9-9-1915 | D: 3-3-2000), who has 20 Hindi films to his credit as a music director, 28 Hindi film songs in his own voice, one film each as a lyricist and as a film director. Ninu Mazumdar was born in a community, which was traditionally more literate in those times. His father, Nagendra Mazumdar, was a dramatist and director in the silent film era. Nagendra Mazumdar has also acted in a comedy cameo role in K L Saigal’s classic Tansen (1943). Ninu Mazumdar’s childhood upbringing happened under the guidance of his maternal grandmother at the then Gaikwad princely state Baroda. She herself was a leading social reformist. Here, Ninu Mazumdar got his initial training in classical music under Ustad Faiyaz Khan and Ustad Imam Chili Khan.

In 1931, he came to Bombay and settled with parents. Here he met wide-ranging film personalities. His early initiation to Rabindra Sangeet also happened in those years. For some time, he had stayed in UP as well, where he picked up a liking for folk music as well as semi-classical music forms like, Chaiti, Hori, Thumri, Dadra etc. Soon he got his chance to compose music for Hindi films. His involvement in the world of music spanned singing, lyrics-writing, and music composition. Avinash Vyas, his contemporary in the world of Gujarati Light Music, used to call him trifoliate bael (Aegle marmelos) leaf – स्वर, the (sound) note (the seven notes base of Indian Classical music), शब्द, the word (lyric of a poem), and सुर, the tune

The uncertain nature of Hindi films drove him to pick up invitation to join the All India Radio (AIR) in 1954. His creativity fully flourished here. He introduced many budding Gujarati singers to the world of radio, and in the process popularized ‘light’ Gujarati music to the masses. He invited leading Hindi, Marathi, and Gujarati poets to lend their poems to the AIR programmes to lend the breadth and depth to the Gujarati Light music. He introduced the concept of chorus singing into Gujarati light music with the help of Bombay Choir Group (an association with which Salil Chowdhury also was associated). He is also credited with initiating one of the most popular programmes on AIR – Jaymala. His insatiable urge to learn and experiment led him to learn Sanskrit after his retirement from a 20-year stint at the AIR service in 1974.

Ninu Mazumdar has composed music for 20 Hindi films, spanning a period of 1942 to 1967. Of these, the films for which there is no trace on the YouTube are: Masterji (1943) -co-music-director B R Deodhar; Pratigya (1943) – as recorded by Shri Harish Raghuvanshi in his famous Gujarati newspaper column article*- ; Rangile Dost (1944), Gudia (1947); Pul (1947); Ramshashri (1944); Aflatoon (1950): Azamyish (1952) – except one song. Ninu Mazumdar has penned songs for ‘Paristan’ (1944) and directed ‘Kuchh Naya’ (1948).

To commemorate the death anniversary of Ninu Mazumdar, we will listen to his compositions in Hindi films in his own voice, as are available on YT at present.

1. Haay haay haay haay dil ko le gaya chor – Black Out (1942) – Ninu Mazumdar, Rehmat Bai – Lyrics: Wahid Qureshi

The song opens with prelude orchestration based on western music instruments. runs on a fast-western rhythm in the male voice and switches over to a slow waltz rhythm in the female voice. Ninu Mazumdar also easily improvises with scale variations in the second line.

If we have had more songs form this very first film of Ninu Mazumdar digitally available, we would have had enough proof of his intense willingness to experiment.

2. Main to lambe safar ko jaaungi, saiyan mera ticket babu – Kiran (1944) – Unidentified Female and Male Singer

HFGK records female and male singer as Unidentified. However, while uploading the following video on YT, Sadanand Kamath identifies the female singer as Leela Chitnis and I would place my bet on the male singer being Ninu Mazumdar.

The song is a light-hearted romantic song wherein the female singer enlists the wish-list and male singer agrees to meet that, and more, too.

3. Pal bhar ki aap se pahechan… kal se aaj suhanaa lage – Paristaan (1944) – Ninu Mazumdar, Amirbai Karnataki – Lyrics: Ninu Mazumdar, Roopdas

The song rendition is more in the typical vintage era style, but Ninu Mazumdar’s orchestration has his own stamp, So, are the skilful variations in throw of words by both singers as they melodiously sing the initial lines one after another. Amirbai Karnataki singing only one word ‘Bhala’, @00.54, with a little extension of the last vowel ‘aa’ is again ample testimony of Ninu Mazumdar’s experimentations. The first stanza opens on a higher scale at a slightly rapid beat and then switches on to an easier-paced second line. This is how Ninu Mazumdar has used folk tunes in his compositions.

4. Bamna ki chhori dil le gayi, ho baniye ka poot jiya le gaya – Main Kya Karoon (1945) – Ninu Mazumdar, Hameeda Bano – Lyrics: D N Madhok

The song is set to Gujarati folk music – Garba rhythm, but the delivery of the lyrics is very innovatively presented as a light mood song. In the initial line – mukhda – Hameeda Bano literally cuts through the line being sung by Ninu Mazumdar. In the first stanza, Ninu Mazumdar chirps in, almost as counter melody, at every pose by Hameeda Bano. Interestingly first stanza itself comes in seamless sly with the mukhada, without any intervening interlude music.

5. O gori kahaan chali us paar … chhod ke gaanvo ki bahar – Jail Yaatra (1947) – Ninu Mazumdar, Meena Kapoor – Lyrics: Sajjan

Jail Yatra has attained fame more as Raj Kapoor’s one of those initial films where he was not the lead actor. Ninu Mazumdar has recorded songs filmed on Raj Kapoor in Raj Kapoor’s own voice. So, the songs that Ninu Mazumdar has chosen to sing in his voice may have been filmed on the Gajanan Jagirdar, who was the lead actor in the film. Ninu Mazumdar is credited with using Meena Kapoor very early in her career.

The song composition is nearer to vintage years style, but the song does not progress linearly. Every line of the song has some or other variation in the delivery. Ninu Mazumdar once more demonstrates his improvisation skill in the way he has used the folk-dance music at the end of the song from 2.18 onwards.

6. Duniya sari jail re, jiski unchi hai deewarein – Jail Yatra (1947) – Ninu Mazumdar – Lyrics: Sajjan

The song is basically set to Bengali folks Baul style tune. Ninu Mazumdar, as can now be expected, introduces his own improvisation in the template. One such sweet improvisation is the way chorus has been used in the song.

7. Ayi gori Radhika Brij mein bal khati – Gopinath (1948) – Ninu Mazumdar, Meena Kapoor – Lyrics: Surdas

In the glory of the fame that this song has got as the inspiration of Yashomati maiya se bole nandlala (Satyam Shivam Sundaram, 1978), it is perhaps missed that it was Ninu Mazumdar who was one of pioneers in introducing the traditional ‘bhajan’ (prayer) music styles into Hindi films through the Surdas and Meerbai bhajans.

8. Kaare baadar baras baras kar jayein baar baar, re birhan ke dware .. Aaj koi gaaye re Malhar – Gopinath (1948) – Ninu Mazumdar – Ram Murti

Ninu Mazumdar has based the song on the folk ritual singing styles of wandering ascetics.

9. Piya milan kaise jaogi gori, rang roop sab jaat raho ri – Kuchh Naya (1948) – Ninu Mazumdar, Meena Kapoor – Lyrics: Meerabai

Ninu Mazumdar comes up in new style by singing the song in base scale. As a music director, he uses Meena Kapoor in a contrasting scale, to come down to the same scale in the last line, wherein Ninu Mazumdar also joins to end the song.

10. Kar ke singar chali, sajan ke dwar chali chatur albeli – Part 1 – Teen Tasweeren (1954) – Kaumudi Munshi, Ninu Mazumdar, chorus – Lyrics: Prem Dhawan

Kaumudi Munshi**, a trained semi-classical singer, popularly known as “Nightingale of Gujarat”, was an established and well-respected name in Gujarati ‘light’ music. She started as a chorus singer in AIR music programmes when Ninu Mazumdar was heading the Gujarati music programmes section. Ninu Mazumdar’s first wife, Shardaben, had passed away a few years back. The professional relationship between Ninu Mazumdar and Kaumudi Munishi got converted in personal relationship and they married in 1954.

This song is also set to an ascetic-ritual-folk rhythm. Ninu Mazumdar has very easily crafted the tune to a different mood, of a young maid, expectantly looking forward to proceeding to her new in-laws’ home.

The song has a twin, part 2, which is a solo by Ninu Mazumdar. Since we only have an audio clip here, we are not able to ascertain the situation in which the song would have been filmed on the screen. However, the Kar ke singar chali saajan ke dwar of female version now becomes Kar le singar chatur albeli saajan ke ghar jana hoga in the opening line and the song takes a form of well-wishing message.

11. Dekh liya jag wale tera jag dekh liya – Teen Tasveeren (1954) – Ninu Mazumdar – Lyrics: Prem Dhawan

In this song based on wandering ascetic folk song style, Ninu Mazumdar has introduced a novel approach to the orchestration support.

We now have a song in Ninu Mazumdar’s voice, which is technically not his own composition.

12. Karo hamein parnam karo jee, baar baar parnam – Manju, Ninu Mazumdar, Unidentified voice – Ramshastri (1944) – Music: G Damle – Lyrics: Qamar Jalalabadi

Kaumudi Munshi’s site records Ramshastri in Ninu Mazumdar’s filmography. However, HFGK records G Damle as the music director for Hindi version of the film (YT has several videos of film’s Marathi version). The names of the singers have been added in addenda of HFGK, Vol. II -1941-1950, signifying that the information was available at a very late stage.

This led me to approach Shri Harish Raghuvanshi, whose article* mentions this film, Shri Har Mandir Sinh ‘Hamraaz’ of HFGK, and Shri Arun Kumar Deshmukh, who has done pioneering posts on Atul’s Song A Day with respect to Ninu Mazumdar. Har Mandirji informs that Ninu Mazumdar himself had confirmed to him that he had composed songs for this film with another music director, K. Bhole.

Shri Arun Kumar Deshmukh throws further light on the background of this film. He states that, “film Ramshastri-44 was originally directed by Raja Nene. During the shooting of the film in 1943, Raja Nene along with Mukhram Sharma, Datta Dharmadhikari and few others decided to quit Prabhat. Keshavrao Bhole was the first MD for this film. He too wanted to quit, but he stayed on, completed the work, and then left. This is told by Bhole himself. After Raja Nene left, Vishram Bedekar directed the film, but he too quickly left and the film was completed by Gajanan Jagirdar as a director. He was the lead actor too in it. I do not know who this G. Damle is, mentioned as MD. Ninu might have assisted Bhole in this period.”

The audio version of the song also is very kindly provided by Shri Arun Kumar Deshmukh.

https://soundcloud.com/ashokmvaishnav-1/baar-baar-parnaam

The following are the songs for which I have not been able to locate digital versions. Since, there was enough number of songs already available for one post, I have not troubled knowledgeable sources like Har Mandir Singh ‘Hamraaz’. Harish Raghuvanshi, Arunkumar Deshmukh, who already have taken enough pains to provide base material and clarifications even for the present post.

i)    Saajan aao chalein kahi door, is neele aakash ke neeche – Black Out (1942) – Ninu Mazumdar, Leela Sawant – Lyrics: Wahid Quereshi
ii)    Mauj kare duniya anadi bahar, phoolon se mauj kare – Amanat (1943) – Ninu Mazumdar, Jyoti, Harish – Neelkanth Tiwari, M A
iii)    Pujari ab to mandir kholo – School Master (1943) -Ninu Mazumdar, Chorus – Lyrics: Pt. Indra
iv)    Sipahi sipahi ab to bigul baja – School Mater (1943) – Ninu Mazumdar, Chorus – Lyrics: Pt. Indra
v)    Aa bahaar kar ke phoolon ka singar – Pul 1947 – Neenu Mazumdar – Lyrics : Rammurti Chaturvedi
vi)    Aaye bhi nahin beet gaye din bahaar ke – Pul 1947 – Neenu Mazumdar, Meena Kapoor – Lyrics: Rammurti Chaturvedi
vii)    Hey ji dagmag dole hamari naiya, bichhad gaye hain – Kuchh Naya (1948) – Ninu Mazumdar
viii)    Bahut rahi babul ghar dulhin chal tere piyu ne bulai ho – Kuchh Naya (1948) – Ninu Mazumdar
ix)    Lena fakiri phir kya dilgiri, sada magan mein rahena ji – Kuchh Naya (1948) – Ninu Mazumdar – Lyrics: Meerabai
x)    Koi saaf na dekha dil ka, ye chola ban jhilmil ka – Kuchh Naya (1948) – Ninu Mazumdar
xi)    ………Kar le singar – Kuchh Naya (1948) – Ninu Mazumdar

Notes:  Rami Dhoban (1953), noted in the filmography of Ninu Majumadar at Kaumudi Mishi’s site**, apparently appears to be an error of memory, since HFGK database records Hiren Bose as music director,
a)    Kaumudi Munshi’s site** also notes that Ninu Mazumdar has sung a duet with Sardar Akhtar in Uljhan (1942, Music: Ramchandra Pal), but HFGK database does not validate this claim. All, except the 20 songs that he has rendered in his own voice, belong to his early career of 40s. As such, I have not been able to locate the digital version of these songs.

Ninu Mazumdar consciously charted his own course at a time when vintage era music directors like R C Boral, Khmechand Prakash, Pt. Amarnath, Anil Biswas, Ghulam Haider, Feroze Nizami held the sway over the public taste. His compositions in the voices of other singers is also an equally interesting area which we will recall at some other opportune occasion.

Acknowledgements and references:
1.  * Harish Raghuvanshi’s Gujarati article “ઉત્તમ સંગીતના તરફદાર નીનુ મઝુમદાર”
2. ** Kaumudi Munshi’s website: The Life and Art of Kaumudi Munshi
3. A pioneering anthology, ‘Gaurav Gurjari”: – Nandini Trivedi, Published 2006; Publisher N M  Thakkar and Co, Mumbai 400002., e-version  located at Mavjibhai.com @ hyperlinked title of the book.

Disclaimer:
The song videos have been embedded from the YouTube only for the listening pleasure of the music lovers. This blog does not claim any copyright over these songs which vests in the respective owners, such as Saregama India Limited and others.

The post Remembering Ninu Mazumdar – the composer and the singer first appeared on Songs Of Yore.

Who does not remember the songs Baithe hain rahguzar par dil ka diya jalaaye, Naseeb hoga mera meherbaan kabhi na kabhi, Zulfon ki ghata lekar saawan ki pari ayi, Ye phoolon ka gazra ye solah singaar ho, and Humein haal-e-dil tumse kahna hai kahiye? And do we know who composed the music of these songs. And if you know they are composed by Babul or Bipin-Babul duo, hats off to you, but do you know who they are, how they looked like, or anything about them. I don’t, but these songs have been my eternal favourites. These are not vintage songs, but of 1950s and 60s, the period about which the passionate lovers of the golden era of film music presume that they know everything.

There are hundreds of such immortal songs composed by music directors about whom not much was known except their names. The names got registered thanks to the announcement made by the radio which was the main source of listening to songs. The star music directors, their personal foibles, their rivalries, their affairs and break-ups evoked same interest of serious media and the paparazzi as the film stars did. Outside the select group a large number of music directors, some of whom gave everlasting songs, remained in the shadows of anonymity. I have covered a dozen such music directors in the series Forgotten Composers: Unforgettable Melodies. Babul/Bipin-Babul is/are even more unknown than most in this list and are perfect candidates for featuring in this series.

As per ‘Dhunon Ki Yatra’, a massive book on music directors written by Dr Pankaj Rag, Babul’s ambition was to become a singer. After training at Marris College of Music, Lucknow (now grown into Bhatkhande Music Institute) he also worked at Lucknow, Delhi and Lahore radio stations of the All India Radio before the Partition. But as he didn’t get much opportunity as a singer he forayed into music direction. Bipin and Babul started as assistants to Madan Mohan which led to their friendship. They started as a duo with the film Shahi Mehman (1955). Their most successful music as duo was in ’24 Ghante’. Subsequently they separated and gave music independently. Between the two Babul gave some great music in Chaalis Din, Reshmi Roomal, Sara Jahan Hamara and Naqli Nawab. Bipin Dutt too had his share of films, such as Kya Ye Bombay Hai? (1959), Alam Ara Ki Beti (1960), Diamond King (1961) and Baghi Shahzada (1964), but I cannot recall any song of his unless I refer to the Internet. The two got together again after a long hiatus in Daawat (1974), directed by BR Ishara, which had a passable Mukesh-Asha Bhosle duet Aise bhi na rootho tum ki jeena mushqil ho.

This article by Dr Amjad Parvez in The Daily Times, Pakistan mentions that there was aroma of Madan Mohan in their compositions. However, you would notice that Lata Mangeshkar is non-existent in their best songs, who was the mainstay of the music of Madan Mohan. That is a clear sign that they were consigned to ‘B’ and ‘C’ grade films. That their music could rise above their banner is a testimony to their talent. Dr Parvez also mentions that Bipin Dutt was born on 17 August, 1930 and Babul on 30 January 1930. That would make them ninety years old. Wherever they are I present a selection of their immortal songs as a tribute to them on the first-named partner Bipin’s 90th birth anniversary. (Note: If they were born in 1930, Babul would have completed his music education at Marris College, and worked at AIR Lahore before the Partition, all before the age of 17 as per ‘Dhunon Ki Yatra’. The two informations do not seem to be consistent, but that may be due to lack of information. I focus mainly on the songs.)

1. Humein haal-e-dil tumse kahna hai kahiye by Talat Mahmood and Asha Bhosle from Chaubees Ghante (1958), lyrics Raja Mehdi Ali Khan, music Bipin-Babul

This is one of the best duets of Talat Mahmood in a non-blue mood, and it has figured prominently on SoY earlier. It is appropriately picturised on a dashing Premnath and the impish Shakeela.

2. Main deewana mastana mushkil bhed mera pa jana by Mukesh from Chaalis Din (or, Forty Days, 1959), lyrics Kaifi Azmi, music Babul

The orchestration bears the stamp of Shankar-Jaikishan style. But the song is quite delightful. Premnath again looks very dashing. As hero he had many such roles and songs picturised on him, such as Main gareebon ka dil hun watan ki zuban or Main raahi bhatakanewala hun koi kya jaane matwala hun.

3. Kaho aa ke bahar kare mera singaar mujhe pyar mila by Mukesh and Asha Bhosle from Chaalis Din (1959), lyrics Kaifi Azmi, music Babul

But you cannot attribute any ‘inspiration’ for one of the best Mukesh-Asha Bhosle duets from the same film. The film had Premnath and Shakila in the lead. Since the lady dancing in joy in love with Premnath is not Shakeela, she must be the ‘other’ woman oblivious of Premnath’s two-timing(?).

4. Baithe hain rahguzar pe dil ka diya jalaaye by Asha Bhosle from Chaalis Din (1959), lyrics Kaifi Azmi, music Babul

Babul shows his mettle like a top-line music director by composing a number of outstanding songs in the same film. If you list the most soulful songs of Asha Bhosle this will figure alongside best of SD Burman, N Datta and Ravi.

5. Naseeb hoga mera meharbaan kabhi na kabhi by Manna Dey and Asha Bhosle from Chaalis Din (1959), lyrics Kaifi Azmi, music Babul

Now we can put two and two together. Shakeela has joined a group of wandering street singers. In this song she expresses hope that someday her fate would turn around and she would be able to find the traces of ‘his’ footsteps. One hallmark of a great composer is ability to create great songs with a variety of singers. Now Manna Dey and Asha Bhosle sing an excellent soft, melodious duet.

6. Zulfon ki ghata lekar saawna ki pari ayi by Manna Dey and Asha Bhosle from Reshmi Roomal (1961), lyrics Raja Mehdi Ali Khan, music Babul

Now Babul composes a conventional romantic duet by Manna Dey and Asha Bhosle for Reshmi Roomal, picturised on Manoj Kumar in one of his earliest roles, and Shakeela.

7. Gardish mein hon taare naa ghabrana pyare by Mukesh from Reshmi Roomal (1961), lyrics Raja Mehdi Ali Khan, music Babul

Manoj Kumar seems to be a jobless youth looking for employment. Disappointment does not dishearten him, and here is a nice Mukesh song of hope in adversity.

8. Jab chhaye kabhi saawan ki ghata by Talat Mahmood from Reshmi Roomal (1961), lyrics Raja Mehdi Ali Khan, music Babul

Babul again tries a variety of singers, and situations and moods to show his versatility. The virahotkanthita Shakeela consoles herself with the photo frame of her lover Manoj Kumar. As her dupatta gets stuck under the frame, she remembers snatches of the happy romantic duet when they were cavorting together – Chhodun na tera daaman. The scene shifts to a lonely Manoj Kumar wandering aimlessly, and singing to himself and also to his beloved long distance to hold together in this moment of sorrow.

जब छाये कभी सावन कई घटा
रो रो के न करना याद मुझे
ऐ जान-ए-तमन्ना ग़म तेरा
कर दे न कहीं बरबाद मुझे

9. Bhare hain aankh mein aansoo by Mukesh and Asha Bhosle from Sara Jahan Hamara (1961), lyrics Anjum Jaipuri, music Babul

Talat Mahmood, Asha Bhosle and Mukesh seem to be favourite singers of Babla. So far Mukesh solos or duets we have seen have all been chirpy and in a happy mood. Now he composes a sad duet for him, which was his favourite ground, with Asha Bhosle.

10. Ye phholon ka gazra ye solah singaar ho koi le ke aya hai sapne hazaar by Suman Kalyanpur from Sara Jahan Hamara (1961), lyrics Anjum Jaipuri, music Babul

But the song that really mesmerises me is this Suman Kalyanpur solo, one of her very best of all music directors. The tabla beats, and the flute in interludes is delightful. Variety of string instruments add to the overall charm of the composition.

11. Tum poochate ho ishq bala hai ki nahin hai by Rafi from Naqli Nawab (1962), lyrics Kaifi Azmi, music Babul

Babul completes the great male playback singers with this recital style ghazal by Rafi which was his special forte.

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer:
The video links of the songs have been embedded from the YouTube only for the listening pleasure of the music lovers. This blog does not claim copyright over them which rests with the respective owners such as Saregama India Private Limited, Eros, Shemaroo and others.